Are Right-Wingers and Conservatives Less Intelligent Than Left-Wingers and Liberals? Satoshi Kanazawa May Have an Explanation
A few years ago I was reading controversial evolutionary psychologist research papers on the evolution of intelligence in people. There were several studies that purported to show that liberals were more intelligent, by a few IQ points than conservatives on average. On BRI I made two OPs about it one after the other presented here, based on online articles, and the actual research papers themselves. Obviously there was a bit of an uproar over it. Though I'd say after all of this there are studies that suggest that the most intelligent in terms of political/social ideology are people who are more in the middle with a slightly liberal bent. Apparently the study (not discussed here) showed that BOTH far leftist and/or liberals and people of the far right or conservatives tend to be less intelligent since they need an ideology to cling to, though people that are more moderate are able to judge the relative merits and faults of certain views. That study was done on university professors and found that the more moderate ones were more intelligent in contrast to what was written below. And people that are slightly liberal tend to be more intelligent, presumably for the reasons stated below:
NOTE: I'm presenting this here again since the disqus channels are getting deleted, just for the purposes of preservation, I am not really interested in getting into this debate again. The opinions expressed are those of the original authors and don't necessarily reflect my own views, but are interesting to consider.
First BRI OP:
NOTE: I'm presenting this here again since the disqus channels are getting deleted, just for the purposes of preservation, I am not really interested in getting into this debate again. The opinions expressed are those of the original authors and don't necessarily reflect my own views, but are interesting to consider.
First BRI OP:
(Hmm...really...I've know quite a few liberals who didn't seem exceptionally bright...though that is anecdotal evidence but moving on...)
"Right-wingers tend to be less intelligent than left-wingers, and people with low childhood intelligence tend to grow up to have racist and anti-gay views, says a
controversial new study.
controversial new study.
Conservative politics work almost as a 'gateway' into prejudice against others, say the Canadian academics.
The paper analysed large UK studies which compared childhood intelligence
with political views in adulthood across more than 15,000 people.
with political views in adulthood across more than 15,000 people.
The authors claim that people with low intelligence gravitate towards right-wing views because they make them feel safe."
(Independent Thinker's thoughts: could not the same reasoning be applied to liberals as well? Their ideology gives Tham another kind of comfort?)
Second BRI OP
To follow up on the evidence that I cited that showed that liberals tend to be more intelligent than conservatives here is one noted psychologist's explanation of the phenomenon in terms of evolutionary psychology:
Satoshi Kanazawa A researcher of evolutionary psychology.
"It is difficult to define a whole school of political ideology
precisely, but one may reasonably define liberalism (as opposed to
conservatism) in the contemporary United States as the genuine
concern for the welfare of genetically unrelated others and the
willingness to contribute larger proportions of private resources for
the welfare of such others. In the modern political and economic
context, this willingness usually translates into paying higher
proportions of individual incomes in taxes toward the government
and its social welfare programs. Liberals usually support such social
welfare programs and higher taxes to finance them, and conservatives
usually oppose them.
conservatism) in the contemporary United States as the genuine
concern for the welfare of genetically unrelated others and the
willingness to contribute larger proportions of private resources for
the welfare of such others. In the modern political and economic
context, this willingness usually translates into paying higher
proportions of individual incomes in taxes toward the government
and its social welfare programs. Liberals usually support such social
welfare programs and higher taxes to finance them, and conservatives
usually oppose them.
Defined as such, liberalism is evolutionarily novel. Humans (like other species) are evolutionarily designed to be altruistic
toward their genetic kin, their friends and allies, and members of
their deme (a group of intermarrying individuals) or ethnic group. They
are not designed to be altruistic toward an indefinite number of
complete strangers whom they are not likely ever to meet or interact
with. This is largely because our ancestors lived in a small band of
50-150 genetically related individuals, and large cities and nations
with thousands and millions of people are themselves evolutionarily
novel.
toward their genetic kin, their friends and allies, and members of
their deme (a group of intermarrying individuals) or ethnic group. They
are not designed to be altruistic toward an indefinite number of
complete strangers whom they are not likely ever to meet or interact
with. This is largely because our ancestors lived in a small band of
50-150 genetically related individuals, and large cities and nations
with thousands and millions of people are themselves evolutionarily
novel.
The examination of the 10-volume compendium The Encyclopedia of World Cultures, which describes all
human cultures known to anthropology (more than 1,500) in great detail,
as well as extensive primary ethnographies of traditional societies,
reveals that liberalism as defined above is absent in these traditional
cultures. While sharing of resources, especially food, is quite common
and often mandatory among hunter-gatherer tribes, and while trade with
neighboring tribes often takes place, there is no evidence that people
in contemporary hunter-gatherer bands freely share resources with members of other tribes.
human cultures known to anthropology (more than 1,500) in great detail,
as well as extensive primary ethnographies of traditional societies,
reveals that liberalism as defined above is absent in these traditional
cultures. While sharing of resources, especially food, is quite common
and often mandatory among hunter-gatherer tribes, and while trade with
neighboring tribes often takes place, there is no evidence that people
in contemporary hunter-gatherer bands freely share resources with members of other tribes.
Analyses of large representative samples, from both the United States
and the United Kingdom, confirm this prediction. In both countries,
more intelligent children are more likely to grow up to be liberals than
less intelligent children. For example, among the American sample,
those who identify themselves as “very liberal” in early adulthood have a
mean childhood IQ of 106.4, whereas those who identify themselves as “very conservative” in early adulthood have a mean childhood IQ of 94.8."
and the United Kingdom, confirm this prediction. In both countries,
more intelligent children are more likely to grow up to be liberals than
less intelligent children. For example, among the American sample,
those who identify themselves as “very liberal” in early adulthood have a
mean childhood IQ of 106.4, whereas those who identify themselves as “very conservative” in early adulthood have a mean childhood IQ of 94.8."
(snip)
"Liberals do control the media, or the show business, or the
academia, among other institutions, because, apart from a few areas in
life (such as business) where countervailing circumstances may prevail, liberals control all institutions.
They control the institutions because liberals are on average more
intelligent than conservatives and thus they are more likely to attain
the highest status in any area of (evolutionarily novel) modern life.
academia, among other institutions, because, apart from a few areas in
life (such as business) where countervailing circumstances may prevail, liberals control all institutions.
They control the institutions because liberals are on average more
intelligent than conservatives and thus they are more likely to attain
the highest status in any area of (evolutionarily novel) modern life.
Full article is found at the link (my bolding throughout the text)
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AFTERWORD
Recall the study though by Dutton and Lynn which showed that political extremism is associated with lower intelligence, people of the far left, and very liberal would also tend to have a lower IQ. Also note that IF you read through Kanazawa's article liberals want to support charities or so it seems with the money of others...the hypocrisy...
The study that I referenced is Dutton and Lynn's study:
Intelligence and Religious and Political Differences Among Members of the U.S. Academic Elite
Extremists of both right and left tend to be less intelligent contrary to what was elaborated by Kanazawa.
Abstract is here:
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