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Here is the clincher: Those with higher incomes tend to lean more conservative.
So if you got a college degree but can't make ends meet, you lean liberal.
Regardless of education, if you are successful, you lean conservative.
Interesting.
Great point. Those with money got there from any number of means. But in any event, they don't want government programs or those who won't do for themselves staking claim to it. A degree, on the other hand, is a piece of paper. It has little actual monetary value, aside from what one has sunk into it in outrageously high tuition fees.
Here is the clincher: Those with higher incomes tend to lean more conservative.
So if you got a college degree but can't make ends meet, you lean liberal.
Regardless of education, if you are successful, you lean conservative.
Interesting.
Correction, when you're successful, you become fiscally conservative. But socially, you never really change. If anything, you could even become more socially liberal because you have the comfort in life so you can help others.
It's a bit like the oxygen masks in planes you know. Put yours first, and then help your child or neighbour...
Again, I don't think it's easy to generalize but if I have to talk about my social sample (including myself), that would be it.
Great point. Those with money got there from any number of means. But in any event, they don't want government programs or those who won't do for themselves staking claim to it. A degree, on the other hand, is a piece of paper. It has little actual monetary value, aside from what one has sunk into it in outrageously high tuition fees.
Amerika.
Well, educated and intelligent are mutually exclusive concepts, though there may be some correlation between the two. It's easy enough to complete a degree program these days, provided you have enough money to foot the bill. So yes, there has to be a higher threshold to intelligence than holding a degree.
Also, to the earlier poster who suggested that success in academia is tied to challenging preconceived notions about things - I would respectfully disagree. While this certainly may develop one's critical thinking capabilities and personal ambitions, oftentimes success in academia can be boiled down to how eloquently you can agree with the instructor's preconceived notions about things and reflect the same on exams. This is not the case 100% of the time, but it happens enough to not be a coincidence. Speaking from personal experience, a lot of my graduate experience had very little to do with expanding my own horizons and more about framing arguments according to the professors' preferred approach in order to garner a decent grade on exams. Most of my personal, academic enrichment was done on my own time.
ALl of the following observations are merely what I have seen in my own circles. I should qualify this by saying that I am an educated white married woman, with an advanced degree, and our household is in the top five percent of earners. We are no where near one percenters, but we are well off.
In my experience, more educated people tend to be middle of the road, rather than far left or far right, probably because they can see that complex problems do not have simplistic solutions, and everything we choose to do as a country is a battle of competing interests. Educated people, on both the right and the left, also understand our system of government; why it was set up with all of its attending checks and balances, and how change can actually come to pass under our Constitution. There are not a whole lot of people on the extreme end of the political spectrum who are highly intelligent, (IMO). NOthing in this world is black and white, and claiming that it is just makes one look stupid.
Religious conservatives have a lower education level than non religious conservatives. They also tend to be angry because they see their lack of economic prowess as the result of a secular society. Their view on how to fix things is very ssimplistic, and not well thought out. They also have an us against them mentality, and are looking for a fight.
Non religious conservatives that I interact with tend to disengage from social issues. Most of them are well educated. They agree with gay marriage, abortion, women's rights, etc., but because it doesnt affect them on a daily basis, they dont noise about it. What they DO care about is taxation, and security. Most of the non religious conservatives I know make a decent income and it is important to them to hold on to most of what they make. Non religious conservatives ARE concerned about social justice, etc, but it isnt the most compelling thing for them. Many of them do get very concerned at social programs. They agree that we should help the down and out , but they worry about corruption.
Aside from the young idealistic students, Bernie Sanders supporters tend to be educated white people who studied fields that wont give them highly paid jobs. Most of them went to school on loans instead of working their way through, and expected that a college degree would give them a financially stable life. They then blame their poor choice of major on society, and demand that we acknowledge them economically, because, dammit,t hey went to college. They are bitter and resentful, and think they are entitled to equal economic power merely by the fact of their existence. They also tend to offer simple solutions to complex problems. I lose all respect for angry white liberals
once they are past the age of about 35 and have some life smarts.
Middle of the road liberals are also highly educated but usually get along well with middle of the road conservatives. They are horrified at the extremes of Donald Trump, and the religious direction that Cruz would like to take the country. But they are equally horrified at the haphazard, poorly thought out Sanders plan.
But what the heck. There are exceptions. I do know I avoid far lefties and religious righties. They make my teeth itch.
Well, educated and intelligent are mutually exclusive concepts, though there may be some correlation between the two. It's easy enough to complete a degree program these days, provided you have enough money to foot the bill. So yes, there has to be a higher threshold to intelligence than holding a degree.
...
i think education and intelligence are synonyms.
there is a saying "the difference between being smart and being intelligent is that smart people use their intelligence".
Many become so highly educated and open-minded that their brains fall out.
One thing that always struck me about my professors how was divorced they were from the real world. It's a bit paradoxical because they pride themselves on their knowledge and open-mindedness but most of them reside solely in an environment with a very narrow worldview.
Quote:
Originally Posted by stanley-88888888
i think education and intelligence are synonyms.
Absolutely not, though this is what big education would have us believe. Some of the smartest people I know are self-taught or have a vocational background. Conversely, there are plenty of what my grandfather called "educated idiots", i.e. the people with a lot of book smarts but no common sense.
^ i was talking about the etymology of the words education and intelligence. i dont think they necessarily have to do anything with being smart.
e.g.- the central intelligence agency are educated in global diplomatic relations among ngo's and resistance forces but they are not all necessarily smart.
Last edited by stanley-88888888; 05-04-2016 at 12:15 PM..
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Why Are Highly Educated Americans Getting More Liberal?
