In this chapter, I shall try to show that psychological and sociological explanations of moral and political differences which integrate rational and non-rational considerations can be powerful, by developing a model that provides credible explanations of this kind for at least some moral and political disagreement. I begin by offering a characterization of some differences Carol Gilligan has claimed to discern between men and women's approaches to moral conflicts and show how, according to Gilligan, these approaches form parts of different developmental sequences which men and women progress through in their struggle towards moral maturity. Then in section 2 I present a theory of the construction of masculinity and femininity developed by Nancy Chodorow which, I propose in section 3, can explain the moral and political differences that Gilligan identifies. In section 3 I also attempt to show that the theory I develop has application not only to moral and political differences between men and women but also to differences amongst men and amongst women. Section 4 clarifies the explanatory model and exhibits some of its power by applying it to explain the acceptance of a particular conception of self-esteem — a sophisticated version of which can be found in the work of Robert Nozick.