3 ms·

> The percentage of conservatives has declined rapidly in recent decades. We haven't seen an increase in scientific productivity because of that. Science worked

> The percentage of conservatives has declined rapidly in recent decades. We haven't seen an increase in scientific productivity because of that. Science worked just as well back when there were more conservatives doing it. Is there really data showing the proportion of scientists who are "conservative"? In what fields?

brighteyes 10y ago
Yes, see for example the data discussed in this recent article, http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/article/2016/12/20/liberal-professors/ http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/article/2016/12/20/libera... This isn't new, it's been known for decades that academia leaned left, and in particular certain areas of it (humanities and social sciences).
- hackuser 10y ago
  > it's been known for decades that academia leaned left Yes, but the question here is different: Has the proportion of conservatives diminished significantly? (tl;dr: Among 4-year colleges and universities in the U.S., according to one study, there has been a big change in New England but only a little elsewhere.) And thanks for adding some actual facts to that discussion! Some thoughts on it, and a summary so that everyone doesn't have to read it: The analysis is from Samuel Abrams, an apparently conservative[0] political science professor at Sarah Lawrence and the Hoover Institution. In looking up Abrams, I found an article that addresses his study plus other useful research and in a less biased way (the Boston Magazine article is titled "How Liberal Professors Are Ruining College" and mostly is anecdotes about persecution): https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/07/05/new-analysis-new-england-colleges-responsible-left-leaning-professoriate https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/07/05/new-analysis-... the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles, ... conducts periodic surveys of faculty members and asks them, among other things, about their political views. Recent surveys have shown that faculty members are moving more to the left than has been the case in the past. Abrams analysis is of the above data, and shows that the ratios are holding mostly constant in most of the country but in New England the ratio of liberal-to-conservative has shot up from around 5:1 to 28:1: http://cdn1.bostonmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/liberal-professors-new-england-chart-1.jpg http://cdn1.bostonmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/li... He found that region was the most significant factor, even controlling for institution type of discipline of faculty members. Also of interest: The HERI data are on four-year college and university faculty members, and much research suggests that community college faculty members are more centrist than are their four-year colleagues. Remember that very many people attend community colleges, regardless of their relative prominence. Still open is how much of that change is due to the country moving right and the definition of conservative changing; for example, much of Ronald Reagan's politics would be anathema to current "conservative" leaders. But again, many thanks; the research definitely informs the conversation. ---- [0] Abrams is identified as centrist in one article and conservative in another. The Hoover Institution is conservative, AFAIK.

brighteyes 10y ago

Yes, see for example the data discussed in this recent article, http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/article/2016/12/20/liberal-professors/ http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/article/2016/12/20/libera... This isn't new, it's been known for decades that academia leaned left, and in particular certain areas of it (humanities and social sciences).

hackuser 10y ago
> it's been known for decades that academia leaned left Yes, but the question here is different: Has the proportion of conservatives diminished significantly? (tl;dr: Among 4-year colleges and universities in the U.S., according to one study, there has been a big change in New England but only a little elsewhere.) And thanks for adding some actual facts to that discussion! Some thoughts on it, and a summary so that everyone doesn't have to read it: The analysis is from Samuel Abrams, an apparently conservative[0] political science professor at Sarah Lawrence and the Hoover Institution. In looking up Abrams, I found an article that addresses his study plus other useful research and in a less biased way (the Boston Magazine article is titled "How Liberal Professors Are Ruining College" and mostly is anecdotes about persecution): https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/07/05/new-analysis-new-england-colleges-responsible-left-leaning-professoriate https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/07/05/new-analysis-... the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles, ... conducts periodic surveys of faculty members and asks them, among other things, about their political views. Recent surveys have shown that faculty members are moving more to the left than has been the case in the past. Abrams analysis is of the above data, and shows that the ratios are holding mostly constant in most of the country but in New England the ratio of liberal-to-conservative has shot up from around 5:1 to 28:1: http://cdn1.bostonmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/liberal-professors-new-england-chart-1.jpg http://cdn1.bostonmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/li... He found that region was the most significant factor, even controlling for institution type of discipline of faculty members. Also of interest: The HERI data are on four-year college and university faculty members, and much research suggests that community college faculty members are more centrist than are their four-year colleagues. Remember that very many people attend community colleges, regardless of their relative prominence. Still open is how much of that change is due to the country moving right and the definition of conservative changing; for example, much of Ronald Reagan's politics would be anathema to current "conservative" leaders. But again, many thanks; the research definitely informs the conversation. ---- [0] Abrams is identified as centrist in one article and conservative in another. The Hoover Institution is conservative, AFAIK.