Study shows Liberals are smarter than Conservatives - What do you think?

[Azn]

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Before I start off, I want to say my dad is extremely conservative. I do have a few conservative friends who I've met in high school/college. While I do not agree with the study, I do want to say that liberals are more open, therefore they are able to see things in different ways. That's the only point I want to make...

I'm liberal btw.

What do you guys think, yes or no?

Also state whether you consider yourself conservative, liberal, or moderate...

[Sloth]

It depends on the person. More black people are in jail than white people but that doesn't mean everyone in jail is black. Such as this study might say liberals are smarter than conservatives but that doesn't mean every liberal is smarter than every conservative. IMO if you pick a side you're not so smart either way. Stand on the sidelines and watch each side go to war while you laugh at the stupidity.

[Azn]

It depends on the person. More black people are in jail than white people but that doesn't mean everyone in jail is black. Such as this study might say liberals are smarter than conservatives but that doesn't mean every liberal is smarter than every conservative. IMO if you pick a side you're not so smart either way. Stand on the sidelines and watch each side go to war while you laugh at the stupidity.

Well yes, I agree but overall, the article is saying that liberals are smarter... I don't disagree with your standpoint, I refuse to stand and watch and let conservatives take over. Also, I believe that if you stand for something, you fight for it no matter what, so if you're conservative, keep fighting, though I think you'll lose.

[Leet]

IMO if you pick a side you're not so smart either way. Stand on the sidelines and watch each side go to war while you laugh at the stupidity.

Not really. I do believe that in an absolute sense, the overall IQ or degree level (if you accept that as a measure of intelligence), either liberals or conservatives will come out on top. This is just a matter of computation. There really is an answer.

The difference is that there is no measurable way to truly figure out whether either side is smarter. The closest you can approximate it to is by random sampling and even that leaves a lot of liability. For example, are they really a liberal or a conservative? And what about all those people who don't fit on either side? Much of the methods involved in the article to make an assessment are inherently faulty. For example, do they even know and/or understand all aspects of a liberal alignment?

[Drew]

Liberal in what sense? There are so many different ways a person can be liberal that it doesn't discuss. If someone identifies themselves as a liberal, that could mean they're economically liberal, but they could be socially conservative. You know what I mean? I consider myself economically conservative, but socially liberal. What does this make me?

[Sloth]

No side will ever "come out on top", It just won't happen unless you kill everyone that disagrees with you. Conservatives will get in the white house.. then people will get fed up with them and put a liberal in... then people will get fed up with them and put in a conservative and round and round.

[Leet]

I don't mean come on top in that sense. There really is a smarter group if you were to break down all the variables. You just can't measure it to know the real answer.

[bamag]

I think I am somewhere between liberal and moderate. I agree with the study and it does not come as a surprise to me. The correlation between education and liberalism is quite natural in my opinion.
Education (especially the social sciences) open up people's eyes to issues in society. This makes them more inclined to have liberal views.

[Leet]

I think I am somewhere between liberal and moderate. I agree with the study and it does not come as a surprise to me. The correlation between education and liberalism is quite natural in my opinion.
Education (especially the social sciences) open up people's eyes to issues in society. This makes them more inclined to have liberal views.

I'd like to actually back up this (sociology) statement with scientific studies exampling the association ;D.

According to Hastie (2007) ([Only registered and activated users can see links]), a 10-year study conducted by Astin with students from 300 U.S. colleges in 1979 found greater increases in liberalism in social science students than in those majoring in engineering and mathematics. Students who have been exposed to social and liberal ideologies as part of their academic discipline for extended amounts of time may be inclined to adopt those ideologies.

In Guimond and Palmer (1996) ([Only registered and activated users can see links]), they found that commerce students were significantly more conservative than social science students in their attitudes towards social issues such as poverty and unemployment.

Interestingly, another study (can't remember the name of it, bah) made the conclusion that the Canadian education system actually had a more conservative influence on students, thereby making them more conservative.

I'd also argue that argue education itself does not necessarily swing people towards left -- but that certain politically-inclined people are more likely to pursue higher educations. I can't help but consider our past deeply conservative Presidents annnd the shitty GOP candidates with spectacular Ivy League educations. Cough.

[Khelddar]

I think the word smart might not be to accurate and to say they are more intelligent that's closer to the truth, in my opinion, but i think that's smarts or even intelligence can't be measured. Yes certain areas of people intelligence can be tested, such as math or science.

Im liberal in most areas

[Slasher]

I don't think that because you are liberal, you are more intelligent than conservatives. Even if statistically this article proved that one was smarter than the other, still doen't prove anything. In my opinion, liberal ideas in Canada are more open minded than Conservatives' one. They are more thinking about comunity than individual. We have reached this present because together we've done actions and decisions (and certainly not always bright). One man could hardly change the world, but a whole powerful country could.

[munsterpoo]

I've seen several studies comparing 'smart' levels of Conservative to Liberals, and they are equal, it just depends on what's asked. Many things Conservative ideology makes conservatives more knowledgeable on, many things on the liberal platform makes liberals more knowledgeable on. There's no way to really measure that.

I'm a libertarian, I don't think 'conservative' should even be a brand of political philosophy, the very word is undefinable, and so is the 'philosophy', it changes over time, as does the 'liberal' philosophy.

At some point intellectuals have to embrace either being a libertarian or socialist, because these other labels mean nothing and are indefensible.

[runbikesurf]

I dont think either group is smarter than the other because there are so many people that are on each side that it most likely balances it. In my personal experiences though i have found my conservative friends to be smarter than my liberal friends.

I'm a conservative/libertarian.

[victoriamle]

I am a libertarian, but I'd rather discuss this Liberals vs. Conservatives issue

It's not that liberals are smarter, it's that they are more open-minded compared to a conservative

"Conservatism (Latin: conservare, "to preserve")[1] is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society."
{via wikipedia}

[13800038]

Lol, wow just wow. It makes sense though because they want progress. While the others want everything the same.

[tcas4200]

Saying that liberals are smarter than conservatives is like saying that agreeing with Apple's slogan of "Think different" means that you're smarter. It's already been brought up but I agree that the whole association issue with a party is misguiding. If George Washington were to rise from the grave and pwn us all, he would say the same thing as he said it when he was alive. :P

Still, I definitely can see from a realist point of view that you will never even convince ~99% of people to drop their associations to solve problems so these associations are a necessary evil. I'm a very right winged conservative not because of my financial background, but because of conservative's ability to manage money. I'll ignore unusual cases such as wartime spending of Bush or Clinton's responsibility for causing the housing crisis with allowing banks to give loans without oversight at all. In the long run, if you give congress more money, liberals often will use it toward short sighted goals like bailouts or eternal social programs. Conservatives I feel back the original belief of the country to let capitalism take its course. If a business (or individual) didn't plan for a rainy day, they should fail. Someone will take their place if appropriate. It's laissez faire.

I believe people in the USA believe that they're entitled to more than they deserve. They believe that they're entitled to 99 weeks of unemployment from the government when their business does bad. They believe that during bankruptcy they should still be able to keep their 2008 Mustang that they're still paying for and still go on that Caribbean vacation. (I've seen people on food stamps at my local grocery store drive year 2005+ BMWs).

Though I'll admit that I give liberals a lot of credit. I would have voted for Al Gore in 2000 over Bush had I been old enough to vote then even without knowing what was to come. I'm also for tax hikes on people even in my bracket. Based on where we stand, I can't see any solution other than more tax revenue, less spending to prevent financial collapse. As an Estonian (country south of Finland), I'm very much so against social programs which is the stance in Estonia. Estonia has the record of being the only country to pay back it's debts after WWII as well as being the country with the lowest debt to GDP ratio of ANY first world country (6.7%) compared to most other major countries whose same ratios are >= 100%. Quality of life there is great. If you're laid off, you go live with relatives till you can get back on your feet (no social programs). I have relatives still in Estonia who have done just that and they've gone to become wealthy. My own grandpa came from Estonia to the US with $90 equivalent and worked 2 day jobs, went to night school, raised a family, and became a nuclear engineer and helped build the Port St. Lucie nuclear power plant and retired with his beach front West Palm Beach condo. He did this all without hardly any help from Uncle Sam. He also always voted republican. I'll however pick based on the circumstances.

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other stuff:
-Computer science major going back for masters at Georgia Institute of Technology.
-have friends who are liberals.
-filler
-life isn't fair. Shit happens. Deal with it and you will find a way to be happy.

[aca]

I don't think intelligence can be quantified. Intelligence itself is a pretty abstract concept.

I'm liberal myself.

[loucamente]

Indeed, these studies tend to be quite generalized, always there exceptions when is about people. =] Well, some people love to categorize everything. I think that the things can't be so.