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The difference between left and right may seem less to you than that between authoritarians and anti-authoritarians but what about the numbers? If the former ha

The difference between left and right may seem less to you than that between authoritarians and anti-authoritarians but what about the numbers? If the former has a roughly 50/50 split in the general population and the latter is 90/10 (I have no idea), then it's not surprising that the former is considered more important.

patrickmay 13y ago
True, real numbers would be helpful. My perception is that, in the U.S., the fiscal conservatives would be more logically aligned with the social liberals since the freedom to live as one wishes valued by the latter is more consistent with the small government ideals of the former. It seems that whether a person with such views ends up in the Republican or Democrat camp depends on if they are better able to hold their nose in the face of the odious social policies of the religious right or the equally odious and equally authoritarian fiscal and social policies of the Nanny statists. Regardless of the reasons for the current situation, the study being discussed suffers from its poor choice of categories. As an example, consider abortion rights (a topic I chose to avoid politicizing the discussion further ;-). I fully support a woman's right to choose and for abortion to be safe and available. I've donated to Planned Parenthood in the past. However, I also think it is reprehensible to force people who believe otherwise to pay for such procedures. Am I a liberal or a conservative?
- humanrebar 13y ago
  Real numbers: http://www.electionstudies.org/nesguide/toptable/tab3_1.htm http://www.electionstudies.org/nesguide/toptable/tab3_1.htm According to those numbers, there are consistently more conservatives than liberals, but about half of the population either identifies as moderate or doesn't identify with anything.
  - aptwebapps 13y ago
    We already have a feel for that from voting patterns. I was more curious about the authoritarian/anti-authoritarian split. My feeling is that, if you can strip out the rhetoric, buzzwords, and partisanship, most people are fine with a relatively powerful government. Edit: From the same source: http://www.electionstudies.org/nesguide/toptable/tab4a_1.htm http://www.electionstudies.org/nesguide/toptable/tab4a_1.htm
- MaysonL 13y ago
  "fiscal conservatives" I'm curious: could you name a few?

patrickmay 13y ago

True, real numbers would be helpful. My perception is that, in the U.S., the fiscal conservatives would be more logically aligned with the social liberals since the freedom to live as one wishes valued by the latter is more consistent with the small government ideals of the former. It seems that whether a person with such views ends up in the Republican or Democrat camp depends on if they are better able to hold their nose in the face of the odious social policies of the religious right or the equally odious and equally authoritarian fiscal and social policies of the Nanny statists. Regardless of the reasons for the current situation, the study being discussed suffers from its poor choice of categories. As an example, consider abortion rights (a topic I chose to avoid politicizing the discussion further ;-). I fully support a woman's right to choose and for abortion to be safe and available. I've donated to Planned Parenthood in the past. However, I also think it is reprehensible to force people who believe otherwise to pay for such procedures. Am I a liberal or a conservative?

humanrebar 13y ago
Real numbers: http://www.electionstudies.org/nesguide/toptable/tab3_1.htm http://www.electionstudies.org/nesguide/toptable/tab3_1.htm According to those numbers, there are consistently more conservatives than liberals, but about half of the population either identifies as moderate or doesn't identify with anything.
- aptwebapps 13y ago
  We already have a feel for that from voting patterns. I was more curious about the authoritarian/anti-authoritarian split. My feeling is that, if you can strip out the rhetoric, buzzwords, and partisanship, most people are fine with a relatively powerful government. Edit: From the same source: http://www.electionstudies.org/nesguide/toptable/tab4a_1.htm http://www.electionstudies.org/nesguide/toptable/tab4a_1.htm
MaysonL 13y ago
"fiscal conservatives" I'm curious: could you name a few?