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If You Live Near Other People, You're Probably a Democrat.

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Re: If You Live Near Other People, You're Probably a Democrat.

#41

Post by jerf »

GigabyteCoin wrote: post #29

If that statement were true, we will never see a republican government in the USA again. Considering the fact that more people live in cities than don't, and this percentage of people has only been rising for the past century: http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2009/aug/18/percent...

The line between "Republican" and "Democrat" moves, which is why it tends to be so close to 50% (all things considered) for so long. If the line becomes lopsided in one direction or the other, the parties shift.

Re: If You Live Near Other People, You're Probably a Democrat.

#42

Post by johngalt »

tomkarlo wrote: post #28
johngalt wrote: post #21

This is just a re-telling of a well known fact. Rural areas tend to be red and urban areas tend to be blue. Only this is retold with the connotation that republicans are somehow antisocial. I'd just like to point out that proximity is not equivalent to interaction. In my experience social interaction was higher in rural settings. In a small town you will know all your neighbors, and probably half the people at your l…

We tend to know the same number of people total, so when you're in a more densely populated area, you're dividing the same number (or even a larger number) by a much, much larger number of people around you. Maybe it's not that people in small towns are more social; they just have a smaller pool.

Exactly, the smaller number of total people results in meeting people you know more often. This is exactly what happens.

I wasn't trying to imply that rural people are different, merely that the setting creates more opportunities to have social interaction.

Re: If You Live Near Other People, You're Probably a Democrat.

#43

Post by i_c_b »

lukifer wrote: post #2

I've recently become fascinated by the concept that one's political affiliation tends to sync up with one's dominant survival strategy. If you rely most on communities and relationships, you tend to be liberal; if you rely most on authority and hierarchies, you tend to be conservative; if you rely most on your own skills, you tend to be libertarian. http://www.meltingasphalt.com/the-ecology-of-personal-politi...

I've observed something kind of similar, although in my view, the axis is, if you rely on abstracted rules and disembodied systems and institutions, you tend to be liberal, whereas if you rely on much more on tightly shared unstated norms and cultural expectations, you tend to be conservative.

If you live in a dense, cosmopolitan city, you need local government to make sure that all those diverse transient strangers around you are coordinating their lives properly through the shared explicit protocol of secular government.

If you live in a distant suburb, on the other hand, it's not the cops that make you feel safe, its the fact that most people around you look and dress like you do, water their lawns, go to church, and generally display themselves publicly exhibiting the norms of your community. But of course, you better be exhibiting those norms too.

Re: If You Live Near Other People, You're Probably a Democrat.

#44

Post by presidentender »

tomkarlo wrote: post #28
johngalt wrote: post #21

This is just a re-telling of a well known fact. Rural areas tend to be red and urban areas tend to be blue. Only this is retold with the connotation that republicans are somehow antisocial. I'd just like to point out that proximity is not equivalent to interaction. In my experience social interaction was higher in rural settings. In a small town you will know all your neighbors, and probably half the people at your l…

We tend to know the same number of people total, so when you're in a more densely populated area, you're dividing the same number (or even a larger number) by a much, much larger number of people around you. Maybe it's not that people in small towns are more social; they just have a smaller pool.

It's anecdotal, but I went to high school in a town of 1300 people, and I'm comfortable having friends of all ages. My friends from Denver, Seattle, and DC tend to associate exclusively with people closer to our ages (mid-20s).

Re: If You Live Near Other People, You're Probably a Democrat.

#45

Post by johngalt »

bruceb wrote: post #33
lukifer wrote: post #2

I've recently become fascinated by the concept that one's political affiliation tends to sync up with one's dominant survival strategy. If you rely most on communities and relationships, you tend to be liberal; if you rely most on authority and hierarchies, you tend to be conservative; if you rely most on your own skills, you tend to be libertarian. http://www.meltingasphalt.com/the-ecology-of-personal-politi...

You tend to be libertarian if you think you rely on your own skills and you think what you do as an individual has no effect on the individuals around you. There is the joke "A conservative is a liberal who has been mugged" One could add: "A liberal is a conservative who just lost their health insurance" or "A liberal is a libertarian whose neighbor just blocked their waterfront view"

The reverse of the conservative one is:

"A liberal is a conservative who's been arrested."

Re: If You Live Near Other People, You're Probably a Democrat.

#46

Post by svachalek »

GigabyteCoin wrote: post #29

If that statement were true, we will never see a republican government in the USA again. Considering the fact that more people live in cities than don't, and this percentage of people has only been rising for the past century: http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2009/aug/18/percent...

It's pretty early to say that, and a lot of things can change in the meantime. But for the short term, remember that in the U.S., representation is not entirely proportional to population. Voters in Wyoming have quite a bit more influence than those in California due to how the Senate and electoral college works, and voters in Iowa have more influence than either due to the whole interaction between media and the election process.

Re: If You Live Near Other People, You're Probably a Democrat.

#47

Post by tomkarlo »

rayiner wrote: post #26

I wonder what the data looks like when you account for the fact that our biggest, densest cities also have huge minority populations which vote democrat for reasons that have little to do with population density.

I'm pretty sure it maps out the same if you filtered for, say, non-Hispanic white voters. The curve might shift towards GOP overall, but the correlation would still be there, because the cities also tend to skew more educated and that correlates in a positive way with voting DNC.

Re: If You Live Near Other People, You're Probably a Democrat.

#48

Post by ck2 »

johngalt wrote: post #15
ck2 wrote: post #5

What I always enjoy reading, from an intellectual sense and not a "ha ha" sense, is "awakening" stories when people are raised super conservative and follow that path - until they have a personal experience that enlightens them that it's not ideal. Watching self-discovery instead of being hit over the head with it is always fascinating.

I enjoy reading that every generation thought that in 50 years there will be no more conservatives. Every 20 something thinks with absolute certainty that their political views wont change with age. And that it's only a matter of time until the rest of the world catches up to their 'correct' views.

The problem with just saying "conservative" is there are fiscal conservatives and then there are social conservatives.

You think 50 years ago they ever thought there would be gay conservatives? Conservatives that would support gay marriage? So they aren't socially conservative, at least not completely.

On the other side, I am not sure how to explain this properly but I find I am less liberal with age but even more progressive.

Re: If You Live Near Other People, You're Probably a Democrat.

#49

Post by sally85 »

MisterBastahrd wrote: post #40
yummyfajitas wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you are flipping conservatives and liberals. Liberals tend to rely on authority and hierarchies (the state, and similar authority figures), whereas conservatives tend to rely on communities and relationships (church, family, secular community orgs). Or am I misinterpreting something here?

Conservatives tend to claim their ideology comes from an invisible, all-powerful deity. They claim that they are the true representatives of THE authority. So, no.

Source? Gallup polls, please.

Re: If You Live Near Other People, You're Probably a Democrat.

#50

Post by downandout »

Mother Jones, Huffington Post, or CNN will undoubtedly make a post shortly entitled "New Study Shows Republicans are Anti-Social and Despise Their Neighbors". However, all this data shows is that Democrats tend to be on the lower income side ( see http://n.pr/QFg1Yo ). Lower income people tend to live in higher density areas.
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