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> Education predicts liberal attitudes on issues such as immigration, Brexit and the death penalty, those with less education tending to adopt conservative posi
by cowpig 5y ago
> Education predicts liberal attitudes on issues such as immigration, Brexit and the death penalty, those with less education tending to adopt conservative positions. There is a crucial implication for universities. Because universities provide education, they gather individuals who tend to have liberal views. Exceptions always exist, yet the education-liberalism nexus implies that liberalism will predominate; most academics have higher degrees and students work towards degrees.
Isn't this reasoning circular?
It seems the author is taking a correlation ("liberal attitudes" and "higher education"), and then claiming that because the correlation exists, there is a causal connection that will perpetuate the correlation? But the cause is just glossed over, an implicit step in the circular thought process?
Assuming for a second that compressing political ideas down to a single "liberal vs conservative" axis is useful (I think it is actively harmful), my first question here is: why are "liberal attitudes" correlated with education?'
edit: there is a single, but shallow and unsatisfying point about the "educated class" tending to come from "creative fields" that are somehow better-suited to "liberal attitudes", I guess, but that's not really doing it for me
- slibhb 5y ago> my first question here is: why are "liberal attitudes" correlated with education? Here's one perspective on that: https://www.libertarianism.org/publications/essays/why-do-intellectuals-oppose-capitalism https://www.libertarianism.org/publications/essays/why-do-in...
- cowpig 5y agoIs this related to the author, or just something you personally think is interesting/worth reading?
- ContrarianBrit 5y agoThis is a good summary of this debate: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03054985.2016.1151408?casa_token=PfbtLR-BFiIAAAAA%3AnMuHgA3iw5JwUUN8PnRd7vFBmeQEOSDPXSPTKJ7Z8bwJXqKtO6B4CgEs9_gkCQPuk7itW2bO6yBw8w https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03054985.2016.1...
- cowpig 5y agoIn my view this is an entire debate based on a ridiculous assumption, that a "liberal vs conservative" axis is something that usefully maps to real-world phenomena. I think the entire debate is just the politics of a first-past-the-post voting system spilling out into academia. Because first-past-the-post trends towards two parties, and it's in each party's interest to maintain the status quo, everyone who picks a side in the battle has an interest in acting as if political discussions can be usefully framed as "us vs them" Any "debate" that acts as if "liberal" vs "conservative" is missing the forest for the trees, in my view at least
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]