'Liberal gene' discovered by scientistsSomebody, develop a vaccine STAT!
The research suggests that some people have an inherent bias against conservative thinking, that is independent of their education or upbringing.
The effect is caused by a neurotransmitter in the brain called DRD4 which could be stimulated by the novelty value of left of centre opinions, say US researchers.
In people who are naturally outgoing, the feature encourages them to seek out companions with unconventional views as they grow up.
This in turn means they tend to form less conventional political viewpoints as adults, according to the study by the University of California and Harvard.
The research, based on 2,000 Americans, is published in the Journal of Politics.
It found those with a strain of the DRD4 gene seek out "novelty" - such as people and lifestyles which are different to the ones they are used to.
This leads them to have more liberal political opinions, it found.
The person's age, ethnicity, gender or culture appeared to make no difference - it was the gene which counts.
UPDATE:
Prof. Jacobson asks an intriguing question:No. As science brings as ever more miraculous insights in the field of fetal development my pro-life convictions become even stronger. I remember as a young girl a friend of my mother recounting the pain of being told immediately after giving birth that she should leave the hospital and leave her son behind to die. She didn't and I remember him as a delightful child. Now doctors are able to correct some defects while the child is still in the womb.
If they could test for it in utero, would it change your view on abortion?
In any case I don't expect that the the cure for liberalism will come not from science but from natural progression. More and more people are discovering for themselves that liberalism doesn't work. Eventually liberalism will shrink out of existence. I just wish the process wouldn't take so darn long.
2 comments:
LOL... I've suspected something like that for awhile!
As with all mutant genes, it naturally seeks its own demise.
That would be an explanation for why liberals are anti family and pro anything that does not reproduce.
But alas it would appear the gene is fragile and prone to breakage. That is why children of conservatives become liberal minded in college. In most cases that is only temporary leading me to believe the damaged genes are purged from the body by things like work responsibility and the rude awakining called life.
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