Battleangel

Or Kid Politics in other words. Can rough ideological inclinations be observed at an early age and are “conservatives” really nothing but whiny children looking for simple answers in a complex world? Or is it just this study looking for simple answers?

Personally I think the basic thrust of the argument is compelling but it is clear that psychology in this case taking a stab in the dark in terms of the meaning of the word conservative and its political implications. It seems it would have been better to frame the research along a “traditionalist - progressive” continuum instead of cramming it into the hollow American “conservative - liberal” rhetoric. While the causality could well exist it seems a little presumptuous to jump to that sort of applied research and perhaps it evades a more significant generalization. The most important, but not earth-shattering, conclusion could very well be that political affiliations are far from the rational choices many hold them to be. Flukes, childhood experiences, conformity and peer pressure act while logic and reason slumber. All strong indications that we should not allow the recruitment of mind-numbing political youth organizations for instance. But we do like to torture our kids, don’t we, grinding them down with religion and politics so that they don’t develop critical thinking.