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<p>well, yes, but the person i was responding to was arguing that we (the younger generation) will become more conservative as we age.</p>
<p>afadad: Your last couple of posts have really had a huge fertilizer content. Nothing is anywhere near as simple as you make it out to be, except perhaps the observation that people who are working and have relatively high incomes or assets tend to be more economically conservative than people who are not working and who have relatively low incomes or assets. “Social” conservatism – I know plenty of social conservatives, but I don’t know a single person who has gotten more socially conservative over time other than as part of a religious conversion. </p>
<p>If we’re using simplistic models, let me propose a slightly different one: Both the young and the old tend to view things in very simple terms – a few big principles decide everything. Those few big principles can either be “liberal” or “conservative” depending on background, inclination, social context, and plain luck. In between, people tend to perceive political issues and problems as much more complex, not amenable to simple solutions. Moreover, self-interest comes into play a lot, in part because self-interest helps cut through complexity, and in part because self-interest is a powerful tool of persuasion. In terms of national politics, the party that comes across as more pragmatic and problem-solving at any point tends to win a majority of that middle group.</p>
<p>*well, yes, but the person i was responding to was arguing that we (the younger generation) will become more conservative *</p>
<p>some people do. They may become much more fiscally conservative, and want to transfer as much money to their heirs as possible- not pay it out in taxes or in health care.
Others may become more spiritual, which some equate with conservatism, wishing to find a greater purpose to their life before they leave earth, or wish to be reassured that there is something after.</p>
<p>People might also become not * younger* as they age, but more willing to take risk. Paring down their material goods so they can easily travel, or even volunteer/retire abroad. Having seen it all by an advanced age, there isn’t a lot that can shock or faze them, and they have enough wisdom to be patient, with those who have difficulty.</p>
<p>How timely, I received an e-mail today from Townhall.com advertising the new David Horowitz book, “One Party Classroom”. Here are some excerpts from the e-mail:</p>
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<p>Speaking of liberals on campus</p>
<p>[The</a> Chronicle: 5/7/2004: U.S. Public’s Confidence in Colleges Remains High](<a href=“http://chronicle.com/free/v50/i35/35a00101.htm]The”>http://chronicle.com/free/v50/i35/35a00101.htm)</p>
<p>oh and Dave Horowitz too
[retract</a> / 11 / 01 / 2006 / News / Home - Inside Higher Ed](<a href=“http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2006/01/11/retract]retract”>http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2006/01/11/retract)</p>
<p>Horowitz is making a career of complaining about liberal bias in academe. I don’t doubt that the courses he talks about exist, but I wonder how representative they are of all courses at all colleges. </p>
<p>Our concern as parents is what the college experience will be for our children. There may be 14 students taking a Whiteness course at the University of Colorado, but there are probably hundreds taking Introduction to Microeconomics and learning about how free markets work. If my son were at Colorado, would he be in the tiny enclave of Whiteness Studies or the big departments of Economics and History?</p>
<p>emarldkity4: the article claims that Horowitz said the lack of evidence … doesn’t mean there isn’t a problem. lol!</p>
<p>jhs; I’ve confronted you a lot in numerous threads. And I post a lot of references. Look it up yourself. Take some sociology classes. Don’t believe me. I really don’t care. You probably don’t see social evolution because you are part of it and don’t look outside of your own scope. And you are moving with others around you, and therefor you don’t think you’re moving. Very common situation. The truth is, your values, beliefs, norms, etc… are always changing. Believe what you want.</p>
<p>I do have a question about the courses Horowitz quoted- now I don’t pay attention to the title,because that is often a device to get attention and to get people to register, but I do think that the study of racism in our country is a valid topic for a sociology or history class.</p>
<p>However, I am open to hearing from those who disagree.</p>
<p>I don’t know anyone who has gotten more conservative over time either. Just about everyone I know has gotten more liberal - especially on social issues, but also on issues like universal healthcare. I am speaking both for my generation and my parents generation.</p>
<p>“Half of the respondents said that colleges improperly introduce a liberal bias into what they teach and that professors are liberal in their political views. Even among the respondents who described themselves as liberal, a surprising 30 percent said that colleges were biased toward the left in their teachings. Sixty-eight percent of conservatives agreed with them.”</p>
<p>I guess no one from CC was part of this poll since so many deny any bias at all…lol</p>
<p>Geeps, what are you quoting and why should I believe it?</p>
<p>Cardinal Fang, there is some attention span involved with this but do make the effort to scroll to the end of the article where data tables are displayed. Actually, 51 percent of respondents think "colleges improperly introdue a liberal bias . . . "</p>
<p>What I find really interesting about this piece is that this rather potent finding from the study is not expressed anywhere in the text. Hmmmm . . . liberal media bias? Ya think?</p>
<p>End of what article? I’m not reading an article, I’m reading this thread. If you want to direct my attention to some article, please do so.</p>
<p>^ Post 685.</p>
<p>“Should he teach both the Bayesian and the frequentist viewpoints in statistics classes?”</p>
<p>only if its prefaced by a lengthy diatribe attributing climate change to the consumption of steak and the farting of cows.</p>
<p>Thanks, Sewhappy.</p>
<p>I see, a public opinion poll about liberal bias on college campuses. Who cares? I’m interested in what actually happens on college campuses, not what some people think happens.</p>
<p>It’s actually pretty interesting: 91% of respondents have confidence in universities, and at least half of those that do think they have a liberal bias. That doesn’t seem so off base to me. If it weren’t for the word “inappropriate”, I would think that 95% of the respondents would say universities had a liberal bias. But it just doesn’t matter that much. They’re not brainwashing anyone, and year after year they graduate people who make up their minds to be conservative (or who made up their minds to be conservative long before, and never changed).</p>
<p>I wonder if the law of undulation will carry out among our children. This concept (which I initally read in The Screwtape letters) states that human beings live thier lives as a serious of highs and lows that are constantly changing.
To this end social spheres (being aggregates of humans) should also experience this undulating environment, but only when a choice is afforded i.e. democracy. Looking specifically from the history of the US the liberalism of the 60s eventually gave way to the Regan years, which are now giving way to the Obama liberal period. But I wonder, both liberalism and conservatism have flaws and I personally think that extremes on either end result in a rubber band effect that flings political opinion to another end of the spectrum. This is probably much more true in economics and foriegn policy, but I wonder the effects on social issues. Especially the likes of which like abortion, which if people are following the new legal strategy of the pro-life movement could easily swing the other direction in the the next ten or twenty years.
The movement toward gay rights will be a much more subtle move, I personally think that the proliferation of homosexuality among younger generations is spurned much more by social choice than any biological basis and therefore I wonder if the social perception is likely to rebound. This is probably improbable as social aspects tend to become more liberal and stay that way (i.e. race relations), which is not the as true for economic theory.
Particularly apt in the movement is the focus on emotion and dehumanization of the other side which is pure political brillance. The only manner that I can see to fight the gay rights movement would be via science, which is still ambigous as to the biological validity of homosexuality.
The new conservatism should be one firmly based in science. I think conservatives (of which I obviously am) should push science as a basis for policy decisions (as I love science) in all actuality science can full the technology that exponentially increases the production possibilities curve and therefore is the most apt in revolutionizing economies. The current research on the quantum computing is such an instance. I severly hope that conservative leadership reforms the party to be more modern and warps science to be a conservative party issue (just as the left has morphed climate change and other such things). Modern conservatism certainly has to undergo a restructuring in the leadership, form, and style which increases emphasis on absolute positions that do not require moral equivalences or evaluations (such as economic theory).</p>
<pre><code>This change would probably cause a rift in the party, as currently experienced by the moderate republicans who oppose sarah palin (such as myself) and those who are more dogmatic to conservative ideology.
For those who are reading I am writing this because I view the political landscape as more of an aggreagate of opinions with competiting ends rather than binary truths. So if anyone has input please respond.
Sorry for the long post but the extemper in me got started. I think the most formative benefit of Obama’s win is the ability of the republican party to remold and I hope that the strategy is to encase Hispanics into the fold or else we will go the way of the federalists.
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<p>This is very true hearing something different is not brainwashing. I watch CNN and read mother jones (occasionally) and well hearing a different opinion should strength or own resolve of your beliefs because you should have to form a basis to defend them in the face of challenge. Also I doubt that many people (or professors for that matter) care enough to pontificate AND force an opinion on their students, they are probably more concerned about the economic distress of the college especially on the campuses of less prestigious LACs.</p>
<p>And also this highly politicized culture is something of a downer really, it seems the binary aspect of american government has begin to extend into the normal lives of people which I firmly feel it should not. We as americans should be more focused on promoting our country over our party, which ironically was a strategy I suggested the Republican party employ during a speech at the debate tournament last week. I qualified for the national tournament and am happy 
state tournament is this thursday, (though I am sure no one cares).</p>