Why are you conservative?
Or a libertarian, republican, democrat, socialist?
OK, if you read my column, you’re probably not a socialist…
But how do people come to such different conclusions? We like to think that our politics is shaped by rational analysis. We analyze what conservatives and liberals write, weigh their ideas, and draw conclusions based on facts and evidence.
But it turns out there’s probably something else going on. I can predict your political party pretty accurately if I only know what you do for a living.
Here’s why I say this:
When you give money to a political candidate, the government requires that candidate’s campaign to ask you what your profession is. This information is provided to the Federal Electoral Commission.
Verdant Labs took this data and made an infographic showing how people’s professions predict their politics.
Eighty-nine percent of people who work in the fossil fuel industry donate to Republicans. Teachers overwhelmingly (79%) give to Democrats.
Sixty-four percent of flight attendants give to Democrats, but pilots (62%) prefer Republicans. Because?
In my new video, Rob Henderson, who studies political psychology at Cambridge University, tries to explain.
For pilots, he says, “Their job is if they take off and land and everyone is alive. Whereas for flight attendants, their job depends more on ‘How do people feel about you?'” These differences lead them to different political parties.
Labor differences go on and on. Bartenders mostly give to Democrats (89%), while truck drivers favor Republicans (69%). Employers lean towards the right (62%). Artists lean to the left (86%).
“Left-leaning people tend to be more open-minded, more creative, more interested in abstract ideas.” says Henderson. Perhaps this explains why most artists support Democrats.
“People on the right tend to be more conscientious, more interested in punctuality,” says Henderson. This could explain the pilots and businessmen.
Psychologists give overwhelmingly to Democrats (91%), while military members favor Republicans (60%).
Henderson has lived in both of these worlds.
“I’m a PhD candidate in psychology at Cambridge,” he says. “Before, my life was very different.”
Henderson served eight years in the Air Force. There, he says, most of his colleagues were conservative, and he was sometimes mocked for taking a liberal position.
“Everything was in good nature” he says. “Someone can have different opinions and still be a good person.”
But now in academia, he says politics is not kind. He sees a lot of hate. He thinks it’s because more and more, the left and the right don’t mix. Recent surveys show that now, 80% of us have few or no friends across the hall.
It’s hard to be kind to people you’ve never met. There are few conservatives in universities today. A study of teachers found 12 Democrats to one Republican. In sociology departments, 44 to 1. In communications, 108 to zero!
“People don’t have Republican colleagues, or conservatives, or libertarians that they interact with on a day-to-day basis.” says Henderson.
Not spending time with people who think differently makes it easier to hate them.
To understand the other side, shouldn’t we talk to each other more?
That’s what I try to do with my videos: bring both sides together to discuss. Then they learn a little about the other side.
However, many still hate each other.
Eighty-nine percent of bartenders donate to Democrats, but beer wholesalers (78%) prefer Republicans.
Taxi drivers (85%) give to Democrats, truck drivers (69%) to Republicans.
Pediatricians (79%) favor Democrats, but urologists (76%) prefer Republicans.
Because? I have no idea.
Architects (74%) prefer Democrats, while homebuilders (77%) prefer Republicans. The one I have; builders hate dealing with stupid democrat regulations.
Carpenters (64%) give to Democrats; plumbers (60%) to Republicans. Episcopal priests (91%) like Democrats; Catholic priests (73%) like Republicans.
can you explain If so, please tell the rest of us.
John Stossel is the creator of Stossel TV and author of “Give Me a Break: How I Exposed Scammers, Tricks, and Scammers and Became the Scourge of the Liberal Media.”
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