> MFT posits that there are five foundations to moral beliefs: care/harm (whether other beings are being hurt); fairness/cheating (whether people are treating others fairly); loyalty/betrayal (whether people are exhibiting loyalty to their group); authority/subversion (whether people are playing by the rules); and sanctity/degradation (whether people are sullying physical or spiritual things that are sacred). According to the theory, liberals and conservatives view these concerns differently. For liberals, care/harm and fairness/cheating are the most important of the five, while conservatives are more into loyalty/betrayal, authority/subversion, and sanctity/degradation.

Former Australian prime minister John Howard, a staunch conservative, constantly referred to "battlers", "ordinary Australians" and the idea of the "fair go" to appeal to working class voters who had for decades viewed his politics with contempt. Those words have now entered the common parlance of our conservative elite, even as they continue shaft the working class with severe cuts to health care and public education.