Are Liberals Really Smarter?

There is a widespread idea about liberals held by liberals – that they are smarter than conservatives. Studies show that this is not the case.

People that identify themselves as liberals tend to have more schooling and they may, as a result, have some higher academic skills in some areas. But there is no evidence that they think more accurately or effectively than conservatives.

One of the most obvious examples of poor thinking among liberals is in the area of macroeconomics. Liberals want bigger government and more debt because they believe that a small group of people that think as they do can regulate something as complex and organic as an economy.

Common sense tells you that debt is bad. And common experience tells you that it is nearly impossible to regulate with positive results a single household of six people, let alone a nation of 300 million.

If you want an even better example of a liberal thinking he’s saying something smart when he’s saying something really dumb, check out this article from Psychology Today.

And here’s a more serious and more interesting discussion of the issue from Scientific American.