College liberalism

[Gabu]

Intelligent people are usually more idealistic, and liberalism often appeals to that.

However, my college, Georgia Tech, has some of the most intelligent kids in the state, and we have a great variety of political ideologies. The professors don't really preach ideology. Fortunately for me, it also reflects the Tech sector in that there are more people who are friendly to the libertarian ideology - probably because engineers and programmers tend to think in logical terms rather than emotional ones.

I'm a programmer who tends to think in logical terms rather than emotional ones and I got led to liberalism (albeit a moderate form).  I know you'd like to think that libertarianism is the most logical choice, though.

[John Dibble]

Intelligent people are usually more idealistic, and liberalism often appeals to that.

However, my college, Georgia Tech, has some of the most intelligent kids in the state, and we have a great variety of political ideologies. The professors don't really preach ideology. Fortunately for me, it also reflects the Tech sector in that there are more people who are friendly to the libertarian ideology - probably because engineers and programmers tend to think in logical terms rather than emotional ones.

I'm a programmer who tends to think in logical terms rather than emotional ones and I got led to liberalism (albeit a moderate form).  I know you'd like to think that libertarianism is the most logical choice, though.

Well, I think that there is a greater degree of emotion in 'liberal' ideologies than libertarian ones. I do view libertarianism as an ideology that requires a larger degree of logical thought than most, and that's why techies just have a greater chance of being libertarian than other groups, because they are logical thinkers. Of course, in political ideology, there are multiple logical paths that can be followed - I assure you that you probably arrived at your moderate liberal stance using more logic than your standard person would to get to their ideology. I just think that logical thinkers are more likely to wind up in the libertarian camp than emotional ones.

[Shira]

It looks like the more educated a voter is, there are greater chances that he/she did not vote for Bush.
From few private small and non-scientific samples that I took  from high school teachers in CT, it seems that only 25% of them voted Bush, which is almost by 20% lower than the 44% that Bush got in CT.

[Alcon]

It looks like the more educated a voter is, there are greater chances that he/she did not vote for Bush.
From few private small and non-scientific samples that I took  from high school teachers in CT, it seems that only 25% of them voted Bush, which is almost by 20% lower than the 44% that Bush got in CT.

This is not true. Graduates voted Bush; those with postgraduate degrees voted Kerry. They end up making money, and change party.

[angus]

It looks like the more educated a voter is, there are greater chances that he/she did not vote for Bush.
From few private small and non-scientific samples that I took  from high school teachers in CT, it seems that only 25% of them voted Bush, which is almost by 20% lower than the 44% that Bush got in CT.

This is not true. Graduates voted Bush; those with postgraduate degrees voted Kerry. They end up making money, and change party.

still, given her raw data, and her apparent inability to use the telephone, newspaper, or internet to produce any other, it's a reasonable statement to make.

[dazzleman]

People who are insulated from reality tend toward political extremes.

It's also very easy to be a liberal when somebody else is paying the bills.

People usually become more conservative when they start to earn some of their own money, rather than depending upon somebody else's money.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

People who are insulated from reality tend toward political extremes.

It's also very easy to be a liberal when somebody else is paying the bills.

People usually become more conservative when they start to earn some of their own money, rather than depending upon somebody else's money.

I have a job.

[dazzleman]

People who are insulated from reality tend toward political extremes.

It's also very easy to be a liberal when somebody else is paying the bills.

People usually become more conservative when they start to earn some of their own money, rather than depending upon somebody else's money.

I have a job.

I had a job in college too.  But unless you are fully self-supporting, including paying the cost of your education (and not receiving many thousands of dollars in financial aid from the taxpayers that you hold in contempt), then you are insulated from reality.  And if you were truly supporting yourself fully at 21 and paying for school, you sure wouldn't have time to spend here talking about your sex life.

Most college students are insulated from reality.  They never know how much until they go out in the real world.  That's the beauty of being a college student, and why I miss those days sometimes.  But that insulation from reality is part of what makes college students as liberal as they are.  The other is simply youthful idealism, which also fades to varying degrees when you find out how the world really works.

[nclib]

Perhaps one reason why those in college (both professors and students) are more liberal is that most liberal views require thought and the conservative position is more intuitive.

Therefore, those who are well-educated tend to be more liberal. (especially so when controlled for income)

Not saying this is true for everyone - just a generalization.

[dazzleman]

Perhaps one reason why those in college (both professors and students) are more liberal is that most liberal views require thought and the conservative position is more intuitive.

Therefore, those who are well-educated tend to be more liberal. (especially so when controlled for income)

Not saying this is true for everyone - just a generalization.

Actually, I think that conservative views are more counterintuitive than liberal views, and require more thought and understanding of the overall world to arrive at.  Liberal views tend to sound good in theory, but are generally a disaster when put into practice.

Our policy toward poverty is a perfect example of this.  The more we have spent on anti-poverty programs, the worse off the poor have become relative to the overall population.

Why?  Well it seems that the programs we have instituted have rewarded and encouraged the type of behavior that leads to poverty.  It is not as simple as saying that giving money to people makes them less poor.  The fact is that the counterintuitive position is more correct - that giving money to people who are doing little to help themselves makes them more poor, because it confirms in their minds the correctness of the behavior that has caused them to be poor in the first place.

Greater education does not equal greater intelligence.  Common sense cannot be taught, and many of our most highly educated people lack common sense.

[phk]

Conservative culture derides educated people as "Liberal Elitists".

[Defarge]

As people say "Any man who is under 30, and is not a liberal, has not heart; and any man who is over 30, and is not a conservative, has no brains."