Liberalism is Abnormal

Walter Kronkite Impersonator

Edmund Burke, Thomas Sowell, William F. Buckly and millions of others be damned, liberal researchers claim liberalism requires more though than conservatism.  They may be right...

Insecure prigs on the left enjoy confirming their own biases against conservatives. We're low-brow neanderthals, unthinking dullards, and news like this really cheeses them off:

PRINCETON, NJ -- Political ideology in the U.S. held steady in 2011, with 40% of Americans continuing to describe their views as conservative, 35% as moderate, and 21% as liberal. This marks the third straight year that conservatives have outnumbered moderates, after more than a decade in which moderates mainly tied or outnumbered conservatives.. (Gallup)

Conservatives outnumber liberals 2-1.  That can't be possible!  There must be some explanation! Academe is full of social scientists who are eager to keep their liberal confreres firmly ensconced in their comfy intellectual lazy-boy recliners:

New research provides evidence that, when under time pressure or otherwise cognitively impaired, people are more likely to express conservative views.  (Is Conservatism our Default Ideology?)

To get people to answer questions presumably without thinking, researchers had people respond while "cognitively impaired." In one case, they had respondents perform tasks that distracted them during the Q & A period.  Another part of the study involved asking drunk New Englanders questions as they exited a drinking establishment.  All quotes are from the article Is Conservatism our Default Ideology?...

“Bar patrons reported more conservative attitudes as their level of alcohol intoxication increased,” the researchers report.

Yeah, we all know that drinking turns people into conservative, risk-averse, ration decision-makers... (eye roll)

“The bad news for liberals is we’re saying that conservatism has a certain psychological advantage,” Eidelman said. “The bad news for conservatives is that someone who has a knee-jerk conservative reaction may change their mind about an issue after giving it more thought.”

Or not. Could it be that conservative thought just instinctively makes more sense? Pay people to sit on their asses and mooch off of the government, and you will produce more moochers. Building ponzi schemes that pay out more money than they bring in will produce deficits. You can't rack up debt forever... Are these the crazy, knee-jerk conservative ideas the researchers have in mind?

Of course, it’s an open question as to what percentage of the population genuinely ponders political issues, rather than simply going with their initial instincts. This suggests liberals face a significant challenge in converting people to their cause.

As Eidelman puts it: “It might take a little extra effort to convince yourself (to support a liberal position), and a little extra work to convince others.”

Yes!  Reality-defying Rube Goldberg schemes are hard to explain!  More so when they fly in the face of human nature and historical empirical data, as liberal fantasies dressed-up as "policy" so often do.

The thesis, which their study supposedly confirms, is that low-effort thought promotes political conservatism. It's a good laugh line, but it has led liberals into their normal patterns of illogic.

Saying that A (little thought) causes B (political conservatism), does not mean that A exclusively causes B.  A passing car causes a dog to bark. But that is not the only cause.

This also flies in the face of the evidence all around us.  Plenty of liberals and ideological agnostics land themselves in trouble for failing to think through the consequences of their actions, and most conservatives came to their beliefs only after growing up and realizing (by observing and thinking) that liberalism makes no sense.

More disturbing for liberals, the study suggests that conservatism may be the "default" condition.

Yes.  We are hardwired to look before we leap, which is what makes it so dismaying to watch liberal lemmings (and those who think they are conservative) go over the cliff because their latest political hero told them to.

The Study