Why is conservatives different?
 

Saw this in the Huffington post

Conservative Politics, 'Low-Effort' Thinking Linked In New Study

So apparently, if you have a lower IQ you are more likely to express conservative ideas. You are also more likely to do so when you are drunk. On top of that, apparently in the US conservatives make less money and take more handout money from the gubmint.

So there we have it folks. Non-libruls are dumber, poorer, drunker, and on wellfare!

Re: Why is conservatives different?
 

They have different brains!

Liberal vs. Conservative: Does the Difference Lie in the Brain? | Healthland | TIME.com

Study: Conservatives have larger ‘fear center’ in brain | The Raw Story

Biology and political orientation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Re: Why is conservatives different?
 

Next we should try to see if there's such a thing as "conservative face". Can you tell someone's political orientation simply from looking at their face?

Re: Why is conservatives different?
 

That "low-effort" thing sounds like it might be related to some of Kahneman's work.

Re: Why is conservatives different?
 

I see an important distinction here. Some conservatives are just lazy thinking, ill informed gullible conformists in search of a sense of superiority. There is, however, a clear distinction to be made from the hardcore Libertarians. The latter have captured the right wing and are the authors of the ideas the lower forms are to parrot. Muslim world domination, birferism, the idea that welfare cheats are the chief driver of national debt, sanctimony of marriage etc. All the little pocket guide bullet list themes.

The hardcore Libertarians, on the other hand, are shrewd manipulators and put a lot of effort into crafting and maintaining their sophistries. They are masters of illusion and misdirection. They can be frustrating and tough opponents. Do not underestimate the opponent. These people are serious and have an earnest interest in achieving their goals, and they are extremely motivated.

Re: Why is conservatives different?
 

I think the article is plain silly, to tell you the truth. I was just hoping that AML would not be able to resist responding. I am sure the studies mentioned were badly soundbited for effect. If you impair someone or give them little time to respond, they will come back with what they think they already know, or at least with what is already there, I think. It is much easier to promote the status quo in simple terms, because people are so familiar with it. It takes more thought to explain an idea that seeks to change it.

In fairness, the article admits as much when they say that only allowing simple terms helps conservatism more than non-conservative ideas. That does not mean that conservative political ideas do not have complex thought behind them.

I also have an issue with the conservative / liberal division, and I could not find how either term was defined.

Re: Why is conservatives different?
 

it's the horns and pointed tails that sets them apart.

Re: Why is conservatives different?
 

No, actually, it's the utter lack of empathy.

Re: Why is conservatives different?
 

All's well that's Orwell.

Re: Why is conservatives different?
 

There's kind of a chicken-egg problem with a lot of these studies. People who are attracted to fear-mongering, soundbite-friendly rhetoric will of course gravitate to whatever party or organization is currently using them most effectively. Whether conservative or liberal ideas have more merit is less an issue than how both of them are packaged and served to the public. Currently that arena is dominated by conservatives, but it is not hard to imagine a world in which it is the other way around. So, as an addition to serious discussion of competing political ideologies, this topic tends to fail.

As a tool for trolling the likes of AML, though, I heartily approve.

Re: Why is conservatives different?
 

It would be interesting to see how these measures would compare in Cuba, China, N Korea or Vietnam. Or the USSR, although obviously that's not possible now. And you wouldn't be allowed to conduct such studies anyway in most of those places...

Re: Why is conservatives different?
 

Interestingly in Indonesia under Suharto, you couldn't do sociology at all without government approval. They also had to approve of everything you published before and after you wrote about Indonesia. Which explains why I went there to study "fine arts" when I was a sociology/anthropology major.