Are you smarter than a liberal?

[dammitgibs]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703561604575282190930932412.html

Consider one of the economic propositions in the December 2008 poll: "Restrictions on housing development make housing less affordable." People were asked if they: 1) strongly agree; 2) somewhat agree; 3) somewhat disagree; 4) strongly disagree; 5) are not sure.

...

In this case, percentage of conservatives answering incorrectly was 22.3%, very conservatives 17.6% and libertarians 15.7%. But the percentage of progressive/very liberals answering incorrectly was 67.6% and liberals 60.1%. The pattern was not an anomaly.

A surprisingly high percentage of self-identified liberals and democrats fail at basic economics questions. I'm starting to think that the mind of a liberal works like this: "I want it to be true, so it must be true. It feels good for it to be true, so it is."

 

[Tristicus]

I'm sure most non-liberals are.

 

[MJinZ]

I'm liberal, and I chose Strongly Agree.

But then again, I live in Mass. We don't tolerate idiocy here.

Either way, knowing the correct effects of restrictions to housing development does not mean you have to agree or disagree with the policy.

Over zealous Housing development (and consequent inability of people to pay for them) was basically one of the major causes of the our Great Recession.

 

[QuantumPion]

In the liberal's mind, the government can MAKE housing affordable, regardless of market forces. Therefore the answer is true.

 

[dammitgibs]

I'm liberal, and I chose Strongly Agree.

But then again, I live in Mass. We don't tolerate idiocy here.

Either way, knowing the correct effects of restrictions to housing development does not mean you have to agree or disagree with the policy.

Over zealous Housing development (and consequent inability of people to pay for them) was basically one of the major causes of the our Great Recession.

But they weren't able to separate how they feel about the policy from the simple fact that it raises prices. It's as if they take a stance that a certain policy is wrong, and then they shut their mind off to the rest and ignore any negative facts that might affect their position.

 

[PJABBER]

That is a fascinating study (linked at the bottom of the OP editorial) and provides a significant validation of why there is so little agreement between the two sides as to a solution to economic problems. Well worth considering beyond the conclusions of the study author's opinion piece.

 

[MJinZ]

But they weren't able to separate how they feel about the policy from the simple fact that it raises prices. It's as if they take a stance that a certain policy is wrong, and then they shut their mind off to the rest and ignore any negative facts that might affect their position.

You're going to have to tell that to our Nation's Elite. You know, we don't go to Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Princeton etc so we can "shut our minds off".

 

[Atheus]

In the liberal's mind, the government can MAKE housing affordable, regardless of market forces. Therefore the answer is true.

How can you be smarter than a liberal if you don't know what the word 'liberal' means?

 

[Atheus]

"Third World workers working for American companies overseas are being exploited (unenlightened answer: agree)"

Does it make a difference if the question is totally subjective and the 'correct' answer requires you to assume an anti-human-rights stance which is abhorent to 'liberals' and all decent people everywhere?

/edit: Oh my god this is the WSJ would have expected Fox or something

 

[Throckmorton]

"Third World workers working for American companies overseas are being exploited (unenlightened answer: agree)"

Does it make a difference if the question is totally subjective and the 'correct' answer requires you to assume an anti-human-rights stance which is abhorent to 'liberals' and all decent people everywhere?

/edit: Oh my god this is the WSJ would have expected Fox or something

WSJ is owned by Mr. Fox now, Rupert Murdoch

 

[her209]

 

[StageLeft]

Many of those questions are so vague as to be literally unanswerable, even in a general sense. For example:

"Third World workers working for American companies overseas are being exploited (unenlightened answer: agree)"

Well the fact is, they are. But not always. But a lot of the time. You cannot answer yes/no to this.

" Free trade leads to unemployment (unenlightened answer: agree)"

Again, impossible to answer simply yes or no.

 

[CallMeJoe]

/edit: Oh my god this is the WSJ would have expected Fox or something

Since Rupert Murdoch (News Corporation) bought the Journal, the difference has been decreasing.

 

[sandorski]

In the liberal's mind, the government can MAKE housing affordable, regardless of market forces. Therefore the answer is true.

That would be a legitimate point and something that has been done many times for good affect. You can disagree on whether it should be done or not, but you can't disagree that it is a viable Option.

 

[Throckmorton]

Pretty disappointing that the WSJ is publishing these blatantly biased polls

 

[her209]

Pretty disappointing that the WSJ is publishing these blatantly biased polls

Meh, they are living up to the high standards of Fox News.

 

[Gonad the Barbarian]

Then there are the conservatives who are swinging further into an ideology that damn near drove the entire country off a cliff. Drill baby drill. Deregulation. Ownership society. Clearly intellectually superior that lot.

 

[PJABBER]

Pretty disappointing that the WSJ is publishing these blatantly biased polls

It was a Zogby International poll, not a WSJ poll. As the WSJ published news with an economics slant it isn't out of line for them to publish a commentary from the authors of a poll measuring economic knowledge.

I did find the posed questions subject to interpretation and if someone with an economics background hairsplits they would find it difficult to agree to a clear answer. But the responses were not yes or no either, they allowed a broad range from agree to disagree.

You might presuppose as readily that liberals do not believe in economics, that they reject capitalism, that they have no faith in entrepreneurialism, that they only know and understand socialism, whatever. Each of those positions could also be concluded.

 

[Gonad the Barbarian]

You might also conclude that for every liberal that got this question wrong, a conservative just saw a statement that government involvement resulted in a positive outcome and disagreed out of blind ideology.

 

[PJABBER]

You might also conclude that for every liberal that got this question wrong, a conservative just saw a statement that government involvement resulted in a positive outcome and disagreed out of blind ideology.

Blind ideology that gets it right is still right! :awe:

 

[DucatiMonster696]

You might also conclude that for every liberal that got this question wrong, a conservative just saw a statement that government involvement resulted in a positive outcome and disagreed out of blind ideology.

Considering the wording the first question that is a stretch.

 

[glenn1]

In the liberal's mind, the government can MAKE housing affordable, regardless of market forces. Therefore the answer is true.

Of course they can, see the city of Detroit for a perfect example of "government making housing affordable." Making it actually desirable for anyone to live in, however......

 

[CallMeJoe]

Blind ideology that gets it right is still right! :awe:

Even a stopped clock...

 

[Daedalus685]

Those questions need a "agree, but.." option.

I'm sure many of the folks that got it wrong were retarded... but even when I read it I think to myself "well yeah that is true, but it doesn't have to be... and why would i want sub division growth less restrictive?"

I could totally see many folks answering the question under the assumption that it asked "Does such and such have to be the case" as opposed to has it seemed to have been the case over the last several years, or is it the case in a perfect capitalist economy.

 

[Gonad the Barbarian]

Blind ideology that gets it right is still right! :awe:

Conservatives, when they get things right it's by accident.