6. HOW DEIA, SDO AND R-WA RELATE
DEIA, SDO and R-WA each tap into different but interacting psychological and cultural forces. Together they map a large share of today’s American social and political conflict. The table below shows how the three factors relate:
| PEOPLE WHO AFFIRM DEIA POLICIES | PEOPLE WHO RANK HIGH ON THE SDO SPECTRUM | PEOPLE WHO LEAN STRONGLY TOWARD R-WA | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core focus | Always advocate for fairness, belonging, and access for all people in all public and private circumstances. | Advocacy for more power/money for in-group members.
Advocacy for less power/money for out-group members. |
Submission to perceived legitimate authorities.
Aggression against designated out-group enemies. Rigid adherence to conventional social and religious norms. |
| Where views are expressed and applied | Personal beliefs and views.
Political party ideologies. Voting habits. Legislation. |
Personal beliefs and views.
Social media, public demonstrations. Political party ideologies. Voting habits. Legislation. |
Personal beliefs and views.
Social media, public demonstrations. Political party ideologies. Voting habits. Legislation. |
| Views on equality | Always advocates for more fairness for everyone. | Always oppose equal treatment for all people. | Okay with inequality if it necessary to keep social order, maintain personal safety, wealth and social standing. |
| Typical politics | Advocate for legislation to increased rights & access to public and private accommodations for out-group members | Always support status‑quo inequities in both public and private sectors
Always advocate for greater inequities and marginalization of out-group members. |
Support outspoken politicians who are willing to argue against legislation that would advance DEIA rights for all people. |
It is instructive to consider this table in the context of America’s partisan divide and Constitutional principles which are succinctly outlined in the Preamble to the Constitution:
“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
The Preamble outlines six broad goals for government:
- Form a more perfect Union that is not divided along racial, social, economic, political, religious or educational lines
- Establish Justice for all Americans
- Insure domestic Tranquility for all Americans
- Provide for the common defense
- Promote the general Welfare for all Americans
- Secure the Blessings of Liberty for current and future generations
What the Preamble stands for:
- The Preamble declares that “We the People” create the Constitution to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure liberty for ourselves and our posterity.
- “We the People” is widely interpreted as emphasizing popular sovereignty, civic equality, and a government meant to benefit all citizens rather than a ruling class or dominant group.
- The Preamble lays the philosophical groundwork for the Constitution and the unspoken aspirations (i.e. dreams) of all Americans.
What DEIA stands for:
- Diversity: Representation of varied backgrounds, identities, and experiences in people and groups.
- Equity: Fair access to opportunities by addressing systemic barriers and unequal starting points.
- Inclusion: Creating environments where diverse individuals feel valued, belong, and fully participate.
- Accessibility: Removing physical, technological, and systemic barriers for equitable participation, especially for disabled people.
What SDO stands for:
- SDO is a personality trait that describes how much a person prefers social systems where some groups dominate others and supports group‑based hierarchy and inequality.
- High‑SDO individuals tend to oppose group‑based equality and endorse policies, legislation, roles, and institutions that maintain or increase inequality between groups.
- Research using Social Dominance Theory shows that anxiety about losing dominant-group (i.e. in-group) status and a desire to preserve in-group hierarchy strongly shape current U.S. right-wing political attitudes.
- Higher SDO scores are associated with support for policies and leaders that maintain traditional status hierarchies and resist egalitarian changes around race, immigration, and gender, which directly collide with DEI’s equity goals.
How SDO conflicts with the Preamble:
- SDO’s endorsement of group‑based hierarchy conflicts with the Preamble’s commitment to justice for all Americans and “a more perfect Union,” which presuppose fair treatment and political inclusion across groups — not political in-groups.
- SDO normalizes inequality and in-group dominance over out-group populations.
- SDO is at odds with the Preamble’s aspirational, egalitarian framework in which power comes from the people as a whole and government exists to secure justice, welfare, and liberty for all Americans.
What R-WA stands for:
- Right-Wing Authoritarianism includes these principles:
- Submission to perceived legitimate authorities.
- Aggression (including violence) toward deviants who advocate for political policies different from their own.
- Aggression against perceived rule-breakers or out-groups that advocate for social policies that do not align with traditional/conventional social/religious norms.
- U.S. conservatives, relative to right-of-center voters in other democracies, show unusually strong RWA tendencies, including support for punitive law-and-order policies and willingness to sacrifice some civil liberties for order, which intensifies “us versus them” conflict.
How do personal orientations to DEIA, SDO and R-WA interact to drive partisanship.
- DEI/DEIA initiatives push egalitarian inclusion, while high-SDO individuals experience these as status threats.
- RWA individuals experience DEIA policies as attacks on social/cultural traditions and government authorities.
- This clash between egalitarian moral visions and hierarchy/authority-oriented moral visions helps explain why disputes over race, gender, immigration, and speech norms are so emotionally charged and central to today’s partisan and cultural polarization.
In summary, SDO ideology embraced by Trump and his followers is fundamentally at odds with constitutional ideals specified in the Preamble.