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toyomotor
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Topic: Why are intellectuals overwhelmingly leftist? Posted: 04-Feb-2014 at 04:05 |
Ron: Some folks are so far left of centre that they'd wear out two pairs of boots walking back. ;)
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opuslola
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Posted: 03-Feb-2014 at 21:46 |
Originally posted by toyomotor
Cywr: "That's precisely the point, furthermore sometimes just having a degree gets you to the front of the cue for a job, even if that degree has no baring on the job itself."
That's a very good point. A man I know was employed as Disaster Planner (no, not how to plan a disaster-plan for the eventuality) in our equivalent of FEMA. His background was a degree in Linguistics!!
Was he employed because of his "obvious intelligence" or, having gained a degree, he knew how to research a topic?
I don't know, but it certainly doesn't work in all cases.
But to answer the original question, perhaps it starts in university where students become radicalised and conform the "student norm" of rebellion against all authority. Most grow out of this after a few years, but there are those who can still be seen wearing Che Guevara berets and badges. I can't really say if any particular faculty is more leftists than others.
In some cases, perhaps many, aligning ones self with a particular "movement" gives the individual a sense of belonging.
There's a real opening for a Psychology Thesis here!
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And I agree with Ian above! It is mostly a social display by the young!
Za vas! Ron
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toyomotor
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Posted: 03-Feb-2014 at 20:34 |
Cywr: "That's precisely the point, furthermore sometimes just having a degree gets you to the front of the cue for a job, even if that degree has no baring on the job itself."
That's a very good point. A man I know was employed as Disaster Planner (no, not how to plan a disaster-plan for the eventuality) in our equivalent of FEMA. His background was a degree in Linguistics!!
Was he employed because of his "obvious intelligence" or, having gained a degree, he knew how to research a topic?
I don't know, but it certainly doesn't work in all cases.
But to answer the original question, perhaps it starts in university where students become radicalised and conform the "student norm" of rebellion against all authority. Most grow out of this after a few years, but there are those who can still be seen wearing Che Guevara berets and badges. I can't really say if any particular faculty is more leftists than others.
In some cases, perhaps many, aligning ones self with a particular "movement" gives the individual a sense of belonging.
There's a real opening for a Psychology Thesis here!
Edited by toyomotor - 03-Feb-2014 at 20:44
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opuslola
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Posted: 03-Feb-2014 at 19:12 |
Originally posted by gcle2003
Where does this idea that economists swing to the right come from? Not in my world, they don't.
Granted there are some right-wing economists, the majority it seems to me (and I'm an ex-economics lecturer myself) are to the left. $
Quite apart from Marx and Engels, Keynes and his whole school are socialist to social-democratic: I'm sure Joan Robinson would be horrified to see herself described as rightist.
Unfortunately the twaddle-purveyors like Friedman and Hayek get too much attention, and of course right-wing politicians dream up their own 'economic' doctrines (like 'trickle-down') to suit their political agendas. But I'm talking serious, empirical economists as well as the 'welfare economists' and the socialist ones.
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And with beliefs like you hold, you need to stay suspended!
But my regards always,
Ron
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beorna
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Posted: 03-Feb-2014 at 17:15 |
Originally posted by opuslola
Most of us on the Right, merely want to be Left alone! Smile!
So all of you social leftists please leave the people alone!
Heck Hitler was a type of Social Democrat, he merely called it National Socialism, and that was surely a good idea at the time. frown
Regards, Ron (from S. Mississippi, USA)
PS, and yes! The Prez calls me every week for advice. Why does he not take it? I merely ask him to resign the office!! He then always says the same two words--Joe Biden! LOL
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Hitler let Social Democrats execute or sended them to KZs. It is not funny to call him some type of Social Democrat.
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opuslola
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Posted: 03-Feb-2014 at 16:49 |
Most of us on the Right, merely want to be Left alone! Smile!
So all of you social leftists please leave the people alone!
Heck Hitler was a type of Social Democrat, he merely called it National Socialism, and that was surely a good idea at the time. frown
Regards, Ron (from S. Mississippi, USA)
PS, and yes! The Prez calls me every week for advice. Why does he not take it? I merely ask him to resign the office!! He then always says the same two words--Joe Biden! LOL
Edited by opuslola - 03-Feb-2014 at 16:52
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beorna
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Posted: 03-Feb-2014 at 15:21 |
Left is simply beautiful. Left is where the heart beats. That's all :D
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medenaywe
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Posted: 03-Feb-2014 at 14:05 |
Do you wait call from Obama,Ron?!?
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opuslola
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Posted: 08-Dec-2013 at 19:29 |
Originally posted by medenaywe
probably have not enough money to be anything else.Position is aligned by&with&in status. |
Because, in their circles, they enjoy being "Elitists!" They all have egos the size of Jupiter, and, even if they are as ugly as a hyena's butt, and they think they are beautiful because of their "correct" thought processes, which are at odds with the Evil Nazi, Tea Party, Republican, right wingers! LOL
And, their new, adored leader is pushing the USA into bankruptcy!, and the world into a "Great Depression!"
Wait and see?
Ron
Edited by opuslola - 08-Dec-2013 at 19:34
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opuslola
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Posted: 08-Dec-2013 at 19:21 |
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opuslola
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Posted: 08-Dec-2013 at 18:23 |
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barcelonic
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Posted: 11-Nov-2013 at 22:41 |
Originally posted by TheAlaniDragonRising
As for the empathy area, those types who can do so well at times investing are also the same who are prone to lose fortunes over and over again. |
What I meant by the investor thing was that traders who have reservations or moral scruples about buying shares in an arms company, for example, or knowingly selling bad shares to clients, won't last for very long before they are out of a job.
I think you're describing the 'gambler's psyche', which will apply to some people and not to others but I'm not sure if that's related to empathy tbh. I would assume though that most Wall Street traders are trained well enough to not take unnecessary risks the way a typical gambler would. Perhaps i'd liken what they do more to poker, a less pure form of gambling, because they have at least some information with which to make a decision.
:)
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red clay
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Posted: 11-Nov-2013 at 19:39 |
MM, Flying Zone hasn't been here since 2008.
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"Arguing with someone who hates you or your ideas, is like playing chess with a pigeon. No matter what move you make, your opponent will walk all over the board and scramble the pieces".
Unknown.
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Mountain Man
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Posted: 11-Nov-2013 at 16:20 |
Originally posted by flyingzone
On the eve of the Canadian federal election, I made an informal survey among my colleagues - for which party are you going to vote? I wasn't surprised by the answer - no one was even remotely interested in voting for the Conservatives. And this wasn't just the case in the two departments (psychology and sociology - in sociology, there's actually a Marxist-Leninist) that I belong to. It's the same with anthropology, geography, English, and ESPECIALLY history. Looking at the "profiles" of these individuals, there is nothing in common among them - the oldest are in their 60's and the youngest are in their 20's; male and female (of course); ALL ethnicities ("Anglo"-Canadian, French-Canadian, Jewish, Blacks, Arabs, Asians, Greeks, Italians, and plenty of Americans); mostly straight but one or two gay/bisexual; some religious but mostly not. The only denominator that connects all of us - we all have graduate degrees in various disciplines.
I cannot speak for all North American colleges and universities and I am very sure (1) there are exceptions and (2) there certainly exists some important regional differences, but I have the impression that leftists seem to be disproportionately represented among intellectuals and college/university faculties. Why? Is there a "leftist bug" that can be caught by those who read (and probably think) too much?
| What specific proof do you offer to support this contention?
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Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
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medenaywe
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Posted: 11-Nov-2013 at 16:06 |
probably have not enough money to be anything else.Position is aligned by&with&in status.
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TheAlaniDragonRising
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Posted: 11-Nov-2013 at 07:05 |
barcelonic, I can certainly vouch for what you're saying about those with high-IQs of 160+ and potential cripples in life. Being profoundly shy is no fun whatsoever. However, I'm also a very luck sapiosexual who has found someone who can see me for what I am, and are set to marry in just under a year from now. As for the empathy area, those types who can do so well at times investing are also the same who are prone to lose fortunes over and over again. Personally my beliefs are that there are different types of investors for different times, who benefit society, and themselves, better when the time is right.
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What a handsome figure of a dragon. No wonder I fall madly in love with the Alani Dragon now, the avatar, it's a gorgeous dragon picture.
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barcelonic
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Posted: 10-Nov-2013 at 23:45 |
I believe neuroscience is on the verge of proving this but I'll concede the following as speculation as I have no sources for you..
Studies have shown that the young men who work at Wall Street and are targeted for recruitment often have varying degrees of brain damage - I say brain damage but really it's not damage it is just that each of our brains have different layouts, shaped by the experiences we've been through in life and in utero. The part of the brain responsible for empathetic capability was significantly smaller than average among the Wall Street group.
This may sound like rubbish to you but consider the basic, common sense that this study posits: those with lower empathy make for better investors. One could hardly deny this!
Based on things I've read, as well as personal experiences with people in my life, I'm convinced that right and left wing politics are a reflection of one's brain structure first & foremost. There'll be many psychological factors but our psyches are only capable of working with what the brain has.
As for the leaning of intellectuals towards leftism I wouldn't really know as I've never had the privilege of knowing any - I never could attend university and sadly never found myself in such circles.
A thing to consider though is that most intellectuals are intelligent, and often high-IQ individuals can find life just as difficult and exclusive as someone as unintelligent as they are intelligent.
The average IQ is, of course, 100. If you had an IQ of 160 it could be as much of a cripple in life as having an IQ of 40. Very different problems, but problems nonetheless.
And there is also a proven link between intelligence and sociopathy - high-IQ individuals are far less likely to do a drive-by than they are to kidnap and torture 15 people.
Just a few ideas; perhaps some of them connect and help shed light on an answer.
:)
EDIT: Perhaps low empathy makes a person less likely to develop into an intellectual to begin with, and if low empathy leads to social conservatism, that may well be your answer. :)
Edited by barcelonic - 10-Nov-2013 at 23:50
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Centrix Vigilis
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Posted: 29-Sep-2012 at 10:24 |
Keep at it. And remember.... "Need for a sign is for the weak of faith". Lakota Warrior proverb
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"Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence"
S. T. Friedman
Pilger's law: 'If it's been officially denied, then it's probably true'
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TheAlaniDragonRising
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Posted: 29-Sep-2012 at 10:05 |
Originally posted by Centrix Vigilis
Don't knock that Alani. Here in America, house keepers, maint and groundskeeping personnel, at mid to major level Uni's, commonly make in the $40's-60,000's in salary and comp. Once in the union employee and benefit system. And while that isnt great necessarily today... just 5 years ago the range was the same and the value extremely good in lower income geo-regions. iow. Your buying power was in good shape. So if some guy offers ya a job at commensurate rates in your neck of the woods....take it. |
Hey CV I'm not knocking anything, I'd take any of those jobs, but these days most of those kinds of jobs ask for people with previous experience. I've been unemployed for nearly twenty years now, and I've got to hope people look at the last ten months I've had doing voluntary work, which I needed to do to get any references, for which I need to have to allow me to get any kind of job.
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Centrix Vigilis
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Posted: 29-Sep-2012 at 09:54 |
Don't knock that Alani. Here in America, house keepers, maint and groundskeeping personnel, at mid to major level Uni's, commonly make in the $40's-60,000's in salary and comp. Once in the union employee and benefit system. And while that isnt great necessarily today... just 5 years ago the range was the same and the value extremely good in lower income geo-regions. iow. Your buying power was in good shape. So if some guy offers ya a job at commensurate rates in your neck of the woods....take it.
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"Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence"
S. T. Friedman
Pilger's law: 'If it's been officially denied, then it's probably true'
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