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If I listen closely, I'm pretty sure that I can hear you patting yourself on the back through my computer. Your comment boils down to saying, "Because educatio

If I listen closely, I'm pretty sure that I can hear you patting yourself on the back through my computer. Your comment boils down to saying, "Because education opens your mind," which is completely asinine. Political science and philosophy are not young fields. Where would Aristotle, Hobbes, Machiavelli, Locke, Jefferson, Hamilton, Franklin or Madison fall today? Are you telling me that you find it reasonable to think that none of them would find themselves on the right, because they're uneducated, have a simple world view, and can't appreciate nuance? I like this website more when I don't click the political articles.

tremon 10y ago
Where would Aristotle, Hobbes, Machiavelli, Locke, Jefferson, Hamilton, Franklin or Madison fall today That's an uninteresting question. Environments change, and so do our definitions. I don't know much about your founding fathers beyond the Declaration of Independence, but I'd say all those mentioned were progressives in their own time.
petewailes 10y ago
I didn't say left or right, or Democrat/Republican once. I specifically chose examples that would reflect that both sides of the political spectrum get wrong. The left doesn't have exclusive ownership of liberalism, nor does the right always find itself to be illiberal. Fear and ignorance however can abound on both sides, leading to illiberal opinions. I'm sure some of those mentioned would be left and right, as well as anyone else you might want to bring up. There's parts of Aristotle's Politics and Ethics that would most certainly place him on the right of the political spectrum. But that's got nothing to do with liberal views.
- nickysielicki 10y ago
  > I didn't say left or right, or Democrat/Republican once. Okay, but the article did, and so do the statistics, and that was certainly the framing of your original comment. The crux of the question is why our universities are churning out individuals that align so strongly with the politics of the left, not necessarily liberalism. I am completely comfortable admitting that policies of the right are sold more often with FUD than policies of the left. What I resent is the implication that there isn't an argument to be made beyond the FUD.

tremon 10y ago

Where would Aristotle, Hobbes, Machiavelli, Locke, Jefferson, Hamilton, Franklin or Madison fall today That's an uninteresting question. Environments change, and so do our definitions. I don't know much about your founding fathers beyond the Declaration of Independence, but I'd say all those mentioned were progressives in their own time.

petewailes 10y ago

I didn't say left or right, or Democrat/Republican once. I specifically chose examples that would reflect that both sides of the political spectrum get wrong. The left doesn't have exclusive ownership of liberalism, nor does the right always find itself to be illiberal. Fear and ignorance however can abound on both sides, leading to illiberal opinions. I'm sure some of those mentioned would be left and right, as well as anyone else you might want to bring up. There's parts of Aristotle's Politics and Ethics that would most certainly place him on the right of the political spectrum. But that's got nothing to do with liberal views.

nickysielicki 10y ago
> I didn't say left or right, or Democrat/Republican once. Okay, but the article did, and so do the statistics, and that was certainly the framing of your original comment. The crux of the question is why our universities are churning out individuals that align so strongly with the politics of the left, not necessarily liberalism. I am completely comfortable admitting that policies of the right are sold more often with FUD than policies of the left. What I resent is the implication that there isn't an argument to be made beyond the FUD.