Right wing morons

[vicarz]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A56563-2003Aug27.html

Refers to a study describing what types of traits are correlated with being politically conservative. My favorite negative correlation was with 'cognitive complexity.'

Comments

[chadu.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure that's a euphemism for "stupid." I think that what that means is that conservatives like things straightforward, black-and-white, one-size-fits all.

[vicar.livejournal.com]

You say to-may-to...

Well I'm having fun with it. Better version of hte article at
http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2003/07/22_politics.shtml

[chadu.livejournal.com]

(reads article)

"They also stressed that their findings are not judgmental."

Oh, please. Let's look at that list again:

"...that some of the common psychological factors linked to political conservatism include:
* Fear and aggression
* Dogmatism and intolerance of ambiguity
* Uncertainty avoidance
* Need for cognitive closure
* Terror management"

One I want to isolate here is "uncertainty avoidance." Later in the article, they characterize this as:

"The avoidance of uncertainty, for example, as well as the striving for certainty, are particularly tied to one key dimension of conservative thought - the resistance to change or hanging onto the status quo, they said."

I hold that the phrase "avoidance of uncertainty" is much more judgemental and negative a characterization than "striving for certainty." To select the former for one of the bullet points rather than the latter shows some bias, IMAO.

Another one to examine:

"Concerns with fear and threat, likewise, can be linked to a second key dimension of conservatism - an endorsement of inequality, a view reflected in the Indian caste system, South African apartheid and the conservative, segregationist politics of the late Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-South S.C.)."

Or capitalism, any judgement of merit or quality, or any sport. In any system or structure that isn't a Platonic ideal of communism, there are probably inequalities.

A key point here is that all people are not created equal -- some folks can't sing, some folks can't dance, some folks are better at math than others, some folks are less adept with language than others, some folks are raised with all the benefits, some folks come from the wrong side of the tracks, etc. -- and that's fundamental inequality in nature. HOWEVER, all people are (supposed to be) equal under the law, at least in th e USA.

Recognizing these two things simultaneously is not the same thing as endorsing a caste system, apartheid, or segregation.

"'For a variety of psychological reasons, then, right-wing populism may have more consistent appeal than left-wing populism, especially in times of potential crisis and instability,' he said."

Duh! Read: Moral Politics: What Conservatives Know That Liberals Don't, by George Lakoff (who is, in fact, a fairly liberal Berkeley cognitive scientist). Interesting book, talking about what the core appeal of conservatism is for many folks.

To sum up:
* Hey, news-flash!: conservatives are conservative!

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http://m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary

con·ser·va·tive
[snip]
3 a : tending or disposed to maintain existing views, conditions, or institutions : TRADITIONAL b : marked by moderation or caution c : marked by or relating to traditional norms of taste, elegance, style, or manners

con·ser·va·tism
[snip]
2 a : disposition in politics to preserve what is established b : a political philosophy based on tradition and social stability, stressing established institutions, and preferring gradual development to abrupt change
3 : the tendency to prefer an existing or traditional situation to change

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Sorry to go off on a tear, here, but as an open-minded moderate sort, I catch it from both sides -- liberal and conservative.

CU

[vicar.livejournal.com]

Good tear!

"avoidance of uncertainty" is much more judgemental and negative a characterization than "striving for certainty."

a negative version of a negative vs a positive for positive...ok...and there are some very negative sounding attributions about the lot of them.

Err...well it sounded good at first. I remember back from the late 90s running into correlational studies that found a negative relationship between measured intelligence and conservative views - but this looks as biased as you point out.

Ugh - objectivity is a rare thing to find.

[chadu.livejournal.com]

Good tear!

Thanx! BTW, I paid my penance for this tear tonight, amidst a group of quite conservative folks.

As I said, to liberals I appear conservative, and vicey-versy. Fun fun fun in the sun sun sun.

Err...well it sounded good at first. I remember back from the late 90s running into correlational studies that found a negative relationship between measured intelligence and conservative views - but this looks as biased as you point out.

Yeah.

It all depends on the test. I'd like to see one that rated "common sense" (if such a thing could be quantified); I suspect that conservatives would rate higher than liberals. (Note that while growing up, I was always told I had no common sense. I finally figured out why: I asked too many questions about basic assumed knowledge, and never assumed that every event/task would functionally be exactly the same as every other event of that ilk.)

What it comes down to (IMAO) is people picking a side to identify with, forever and amen, like it or lump it. We humans -- from what I've read fairly recently (The Naked Ape and The Third Chimpanzee -- are essentially evolved from monkeys that hunted in packs, and this may be the evolutionary/physiological basis for our need to belong to/define ourselves by/define ourselves in relation to a group.

Finally, I fricking hate it when people use liberal and conservative as synonyms for Democrat and Republican, respectively. I know many very conservative Dems, and quite a few liberal Repubs.


CU