Are Politics Rooted In Your Genes?

[jaynie]

Jaynie, were you thinking of this?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_Politics_%28book%29

I haven't read this book, but I've read about it (you know, the internet). It's kind of a chicken-and-egg problem: does a more authoritarian upbringing lead to more conservative politics, or do conservative politics lead you to be a more authoritarian parent? His description of the "strict father" family sounds just like a lot of our fundies.

Actually I was referring to the study mentioned here:tiny.cc/amtdc (this is an article by a leftist and written to take the point of view that left is better, but the facts remain the same). It didn't concern upbringing as such (and I got some of the details a bit muddled up). The book you mentioned sounds very interesting, though, and I do agree that this is a chicken-and-egg problem, as are many in psychology.

I think at this point in my life most of the things I read that are contrary to my views only reaffirm them, as opposed to changing my mind.

Actually, this is true for most people (unfortunately), and it's a fairly well-studied phenomenon. It's a hard thing to get around -- I do try to read the right wing take on big issues as well as the left wing take, and I try to treat both fairly, but you can only do so much. To change your mind you basically have to be motivated, which most people aren't.