Why Are College Students More Liberal?
Do Colleges Create Liberals?
During a discussion in my political science class the teacher asked a thoughtful question, "Why are college students more liberal than those with only a high school diploma of the same age? Is college creating liberals?" A girl in the front of the room responded with, "People are more liberal when they graduate college because they are more educated and enlightened than people who just go to work." I couldn't help but laugh out loud when hearing this nonsense. The room turned to see who dared laugh at such an "enlightened" response. The professor asked if I had a comment. I told her that I thought college students were more liberal because the large majority of them didn't work. They didn't pay taxes. They didn't have families to care for. They didn't have to file income tax returns. The majority of them had not yet voted. In other words they had not been through the life experiences required to wipe away the idealistic view that everything should be equal. The professor scoffed at my remarks and moved on.
Face it, There Will Always Be "Haves" and "Have-Nots"
Over the next couple years I had various debates with classmates over social issues. I don't declare myself Republican or Democrat, though I tend to be conservative and align my votes with Republicans. So much of the divide in our society is based on jealousy. People tend to naturally be jealous of others who have more things than them. They want those things too, but are unwilling to put in the work required to obtain the finer things in life. Instead, they would rather leave it up to politicians to redistribute wealth through taxes, eminent domain policies, etc.
Published by Tyler Foster
I am a 30 year old husband and father of two working in software development for money, but writing for fulfillment. View profile
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20 Comments
Post a CommentI'm sorry, I don't mean to flood this discussion, but I just wanted to post this link to a ny times article about this guy who also values the very bipartisan consensus that wish was still here.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/21/opinion/21bayh.html?pagewanted=1&_r=3&ref=evan_bayh&adxnnlx=1282035601-fz0JxCopdTxISEcPBfRRCQ
If the link does not work, please search Evan Bayh "Why I am Leaving the Senate".
Thank you.
...tirelessly run our country. Especially between people of opposing views.
Gone are the days when senators of opposing parties could eat dinner and have pleasant conversation together. Now, everything is heated, and no one is willing to listen.
Please! Everyone! Listen! I encourage you all to engage in polite argument! When I was not yet an adult, I remember my parents (very liberal) would throw out mail regarding the GOP and conservative motions. I was always sure to recover them and read them, alone, because I was curious. I'd rather have a clear understanding of all interests than blindly perform endless patronizing of one group.
Derek, I wish I could talk with you personally. Nearly all "Republicans" I've known have their values merely because it was how they were raised. They took no time to think objectively about how they would really prefer to see the world work. They didn't care.
I always find it intriguing to hear someone talk about being conservative in his/her views of society because they came to that conclusion on his/her own (based on arguments and personal analysis).
I consider myself liberal, although I don't personally identify with any party. I don't think I ever will. But I predict I will tend to vote Democrat, not because the candidate belongs to that party, but because they often seem to be liberal "progressive" reformers. Which is exactly what we need, in my opinion.
However, I enjoy polite argument more than anything else, especially with one who has views markedly different from mine. I believe that we need more conversation and impersonal debate between the people that tirelessly ru
I agree EJ!!! Do we forget that college students do pay taxes? And work even harder to get farther in life? Most of my friends ages 18-26 who are in school work full time jobs, attend full time school and put in the time for homework and projects.
Not to mention the people who do work their whole lives, and still not afford to pay basic living expenses. Liberals do not deny that people should work hard, but what we do see is a very unbalanced system. We understand that life is about interdependence and there are no real borders between cities, states and countries. And we also understand that all humans possess the same qualities as eachother. My ideals are a strong foundation of who I am as a person and how I treat those around me, always with an open heart, compassionate touch and polite smile, even to those who are opposite.
I don't think it's necessarily your education level that dictates how liberal you are. I consider myself to be a pretty good student, going through the IB Diploma program, and yet I'm still very conservative in my views of society, politics and economics. I am firm about my beliefs not because of "education" or "enlightenment", but because, after considering the arguments and reasons for both sides, I believe there is sufficient reason to justify conservatism. Of course, many Americans are conservative simply out of ignorance (which is not a good thing), but I'm just saying that it's not entirely the case.
All these armchair psychologist interpretations are entirely off the mark. Colleges create more liberal (I assume we are using the modern American definition of liberalism and not the classical European definition) students because many colleges directly benefit from liberal philosophies, and thus hire more liberal staff, etc etc. I'm sure if you look at some of the private institutions or research institutions, you are going to see a wider spectrum of ideologies.
After graduating college, I worked for many years. Eventually, I went to grad school. I remained liberal throughout the entire experience, and I had worked in the real world too. Education tends to open the mind to be more accepting and tolerant of the differences in others. This explains social liberalism. If you study history, you learn that laizzez faire corporate structure benefits only the leaders of industry. There is your reason for fiscal liberals. Even the Republican Party used to represent progressive liberal philosophy; however, times have changed. History offers many lessons for those willing to learn.
I used to be a die-hard conservative until I went to college. Before college, I learned my facts from church. I guess being more educated changes your views in my case. Maybe you should try it. But it'll only work if you pay attention in class.
The thing that struck me most during my 4 years in college was the unwillingness of some of my fellow students (on both sides of the aisle) to have an open mind about current issues and about their political beliefs. If you didn't agree with their way of thinking, then you were scum, unworthy of interaction of any sort. They were the minority by a country mile, but they seemed to dominate the conversation in lecture halls, dining halls, and other places where such topics were likely to pop up.
It's interesting that while I still see liberals and conservatives, I haven't encountered the type mentioned above in the real world anywhere near the frequency that I did in college. I suppose the real world tempers that aspect of political views.
I don't believe the naiveness of youth and the fact that college students have yet to experience paying taxes and living in the "real world" works to explain the liberalism of not just college students but educated individuals. That reasoning does not explain why college professors are by and far more politically liberal than conservative.