I agree to a point, rglovejoy. How you vote is not in your genes, but how you think might very well be.
Just because you are rigid and unchanging it doesn't mean you are conservative - there are plenty of rigid thinking political liberals and many people who are politically conservative are open to try new things and change them if they don't work.
The people who shift from party to party or occasionally vote for independants and can see that the other side might have a good idea now and again are more likely the liberal thinking types. Where as those who continuously demonize the 'other side' are likely to be of a conservative mind type.
And both parties have plenty of both types of thinkers.
I think it's nonsense. There have been plenty of people who have moved from left to right, and vice-versa, so I don't think it is at all genetic.
Since your response was knee-jerk reactionary and indicated that you either didn't read the article or couldn't understand it, I assume you're a conservative...
If man is, by nature, a political animal, then he wouldn't need government. Man would be able to govern himself with no problems.
I think it's true that a person's mindset could affect his political position, but I don't think it's entirely dependent on that.
Believe it or not, Im a liberal. But what really sets me apart from other liberals is my worldview. Most liberal people I know tend to have a positive view of the world and an idealistic model of human nature: the belief that people are "basically good at heart" and that people can and will change their ways.My worldview is far more cynical: I (strongly)believe that people are basically selfish and self-intersted to the core of their being and primarily respond to incentives. In a nutshell: AFAIC the world runs on Power, not empathy. I believe that people gravitate to political ideologies that they believer are in their best interests.
Another report on the study:
Study finds left-wing brain, right-wing brain
Even in humdrum nonpolitical decisions, liberals and conservatives literally think differently, researchers show.
By Denise Gellene
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
September 10, 2007
Exploring the neurobiology of politics, scientists have found that liberals tolerate ambiguity and conflict better than conservatives because of how their brains work.
In a simple experiment reported today in the journal Nature Neuroscience, scientists at New York University and UCLA show that political orientation is related to differences in how the brain processes information.
Previous psychological studies have found that conservatives tend to be more structured and persistent in their judgments whereas liberals are more open to new experiences. The latest study found those traits are not confined to political situations but also influence everyday decisions.
The results show "there are two cognitive styles -- a liberal style and a conservative style," said UCLA neurologist Dr. Marco Iacoboni, who was not connected to the latest research.
Participants were college students whose politics ranged from "very liberal" to "very conservative." They were instructed to tap a keyboard when an M appeared on a computer monitor and to refrain from tapping when they saw a W.
M appeared four times more frequently than W, conditioning participants to press a key in knee-jerk fashion whenever they saw a letter.
Each participant was wired to an electroencephalograph that recorded activity in the anterior cingulate cortex, the part of the brain that detects conflicts between a habitual tendency (pressing a key) and a more appropriate response (not pressing the key). Liberals had more brain activity and made fewer mistakes than conservatives when they saw a W, researchers said. Liberals and conservatives were equally accurate in recognizing M.
Researchers got the same results when they repeated the experiment in reverse, asking another set of participants to tap when a W appeared.
Frank J. Sulloway, a researcher at UC Berkeley's Institute of Personality and Social Research who was not connected to the study, said the results "provided an elegant demonstration that individual differences on a conservative-liberal dimension are strongly related to brain activity."
Analyzing the data, Sulloway said liberals were 4.9 times as likely as conservatives to show activity in the brain circuits that deal with conflicts, and 2.2 times as likely to score in the top half of the distribution for accuracy.
Sulloway said the results could explain why President Bush demonstrated a single-minded commitment to the Iraq war and why some people perceived Sen. John F. Kerry, the liberal Massachusetts Democrat who opposed Bush in the 2004 presidential race, as a "flip-flopper" for changing his mind about the conflict.
Based on the results, he said, liberals could be expected to more readily accept new social, scientific or religious ideas.
"There is ample data from the history of science showing that social and political liberals indeed do tend to support major revolutions in science," said Sulloway, who has written about the history of science and has studied behavioral differences between conservatives and liberals.
Lead author David Amodio, an assistant professor of psychology at New York University, cautioned that the study looked at a narrow range of human behavior and that it would be a mistake to conclude that one political orientation was better. The tendency of conservatives to block distracting information could be a good thing depending on the situation, he said.
Political orientation, he noted, occurs along a spectrum, and positions on specific issues, such as taxes, are influenced by many factors, including education and wealth. Some liberals oppose higher taxes and some conservatives favor abortion rights.
Still, he acknowledged that a meeting of the minds between conservatives and liberals looked difficult given the study results.
"Does this mean liberals and conservatives are never going to agree?" Amodio asked. "Maybe it suggests one reason why they tend not to get along."
I wonder if I have a "left-wing" or "right-wing" brain.....Funny enough though, my Dad considers himself a 'liberal democrat' but in fact he thinks in a very typical conservative fashion. I presume his partisanship is because he was raised that way. So here's a question for you folks: How do you definine liberal and conservative in non-specific general terms? Well one thing Ive learned seems to be this: Liberals are egalatarian whereas Conservatives are hierarchical.The idea of universal human equality for instance is a Distinctly Liberal idea. Conservatives seek to maintain the status quo and to preserve inherited privelidge.
one thing Ive learned seems to be this: Liberals are egalatarian whereas Conservatives are hierarchical.The idea of universal human equality for instance is a Distinctly Liberal idea. Conservatives seek to maintain the status quo and to preserve inherited privelidge.
Hey, everybody! Over here! Quick! Ziyaret and Max in 100% agreement! Bring a camera!
George Lakoff and the Rockridge Institute have presented an excellent examination based on the "Nurturant Parent Model" (liberal/progressive) and the "Strict Parent Model" (conservative.)
http://www.rockridgeinstitute.org/projec...onasfamily
Based on the results, he said, liberals could be expected to more readily accept new social, scientific or religious ideas.
"There is ample data from the history of science showing that social and political liberals indeed do tend to support major revolutions in science," said Sulloway, who has written about the history of science and has studied behavioral differences between conservatives and liberals.
Lead author David Amodio, an assistant professor of psychology at New York University, cautioned that the study looked at a narrow range of human behavior and that it would be a mistake to conclude that one political orientation was better. The tendency of conservatives to block distracting information could be a good thing depending on the situation, he said.
I'm still not quite buying the political party aspect of this liberal and conservative definition, but I would agree here that we really do need both liberal and conservative thinking people in the world... liberal thinkers tend to come up with new ideas because they think outside of the box and aren't afraid to try new things where as conservative thinkers slow down the process of widely accepting something just because it's new, which is helpful so that the less than sound ideas don't get hyped up and implemented as undeniable fact before they are tested to see if they are or not.
As I said above, both politically conservative AND politically liberal people can sit on an idea unwilling to bend for any fact or argument to the contrary that comes at them because they want it to be true.
A truly open minded liberal person will be willing to admit when he or she is wrong without feeling that the world would end. And a truly careful conservative person wouldn't jump on any new theory or idea without waiting for it to be substantiated.
Both conservative and liberal out looks can be a good depending on the way it is used - and in one person there may be shifting conservative and liberal leanings.
Political orientation, he noted, occurs along a spectrum, and positions on specific issues, such as taxes, are influenced by many factors, including education and wealth. Some liberals oppose higher taxes and some conservatives favor abortion rights.
Still, he acknowledged that a meeting of the minds between conservatives and liberals looked difficult given the study results.
"Does this mean liberals and conservatives are never going to agree?" Amodio asked. "Maybe it suggests one reason why they tend not to get along."
I hope nobody uses this study to excuse their dislike for 'the other side' because now it's just part of their DNA makeup.
conservative thinkers slow down the process of widely accepting something just because it's new, which is helpful so that the less than sound ideas don't get hyped up and implemented as undeniable fact before they are tested to see if they are or not.
Oh, my god, that is so true!
Thank God we have conservatives to prevent us from rushing into hare-brained mistakes like "peace" and "equality" and "science" and "health care for all children" and "evolution" and "civil rights" and "caring for people who are unable to care for themselves" and "common good rather than corporate exploitation" and "consumer protection" and "living wage" and "corporate responsibility" and "protecting the internet" and "human rights" and "banning torture" and "ending discrimination" and "finding alternative energy sources" and "clean air" and "upholding the Constitution" and "counting all the votes" and this ridiculous new-fangled "Round Earth Theory."
God bless the Conservatives!
I wonder if I have a "left-wing" or "right-wing" brain.....
I wonder, too. You said you were a liberal, and you have a very clear, accurate idea of the difference as you show here:
Liberals are egalatarian whereas Conservatives are hierarchical.The idea of universal human equality for instance is a Distinctly Liberal idea. Conservatives seek to maintain the status quo and to preserve inherited privelidge.
But you also said:
My worldview is far more cynical: I (strongly)believe that people are basically selfish and self-intersted to the core of their being and primarily respond to incentives. In a nutshell: AFAIC the world runs on Power, not empathy. I believe that people gravitate to political ideologies that they believer are in their best interests.
... and that is a perfect description of how a hard-core conservative sees the world.
I think you're liberal and SkotoHelion is conservative... 
Max, while I may have a "conservative" worldview I do Not sanctify the social order and/or believe that it should be preserved! I certainly do believe in Justice but for instance, I dont view Ghandi's method as an effective way to achieve freedom and (social)justice. I believe the way to deal with oppressors is to fight back and show ones strenght. Not having an idealistic worldview doesnt automatically make me a conservative!
I heard the same report on the morning news radio station. Conservatives did not take a new route to work if it was longer. Liberals did.
That makes no sense. Why would anyone take a longer route to work? You're either leaving something out of the story, or just makes no sense to start with.
But can a conservative (maybe one with respect to religious literalism, plus an economic conservative) be politically liberal (maybe not with pork barrel stuff)?
Respect for "religious literalism" has nothing to do with the political process, and "the pork barrel" is hardly a liberal practice. Stop getting your onformation from Faux News and Bill O'Reilley.
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This is a discussion of Liberals and Conservatives, not Fundamentalist soul-saving.
Oh no URLS ;p I just know that Stalin justified his dictatorship by telling the Russian people that all other nations were out to get them and only he could protect them.
So like our own dear President Bush... "They hate us for our Freedom! So let me take away your freedom and we'll all be safe and happy!"
I said it before, and I'll say it again: What [i]infuriates[/b] me about both the far right(and even the far left sometimes) is their arrogant presumption that they know whats best for other people-which is how the justify trying to impose their will on others.
... and that is a perfect description of how a hard-core conservative sees the world.
It is also a much more accurate view of the world.
It is how a lot of people see things, much to the detriment of all. That doesn't make it "much more accurate." The majority people -- at least in "The Western World" -- subscribe to liberal values.
Which makes me wonder: Is it a conservative tendency to choose truth over happiness?
I've never noticed conservatives having much regard for either. Certainly they choose authoritarianism over truth and greed over truth. So I suppose if authoritarianism and greed make them happy, then they are choosing happiness over truth.