Thread: Relationship between Political Views and Intelligence

This issue has plagued political debate ever since it began: the claim by both sides that the other is intellectually inferior to them. Some people think this way, others don't. Do you think there is a correlation between political views/platforms and intelligence?

Some studies claim that you can tie intelligence to political lean, citing highest education level as an indicator of such.

I honestly don't think we can pigeon hole people and say that those who fall on the left or right are automatically or even generally more intelligent than those on the opposite side. And, of course, there's the idea that intelligence can be gauged in a multitude of ways over a plethora of categorizations, and that makes the question even more complex.

WOW, a very good post, that makes a person THINK!

Depending on one's definition of intelligence, I must say "sometimes". I would say one's education level, makes MUCH more difference than one's "intelligence". But even if you consider them related or equivalent, for puposes of this discussion, the difference in making one's voting decision is based on their perception of the candidate's/party's position relative to their own.

If you lean left, then you will likey vote for the person/party that leans left. If you lean right, then you will likey vote for the person/party that leans right. That takes care of the "extremes", about 25% on each "side", leaving the 50% in the "middle", that lean neither left nor right (in their own opinion of themselves). This group REALLY controls elections, and has a more difficult choice.

The "intelligence" required of a voter is to CORRECTLY determine which candidate BEST serves their interests. So you must list and rank the "issues", from most to least important and then "score" the candidate's/party's STATED positions based on that "weighted" list. Even for a genius, this is quite a tricky task. The alternative, that I see used the most, is to pick an "expert", say a news source or even a politcal comentator that you "like" or "mostly agree with" and go with their picks, sort of like most of us do in a sports betting pool.

So intelligence is SOMEWHAT a factor; are you "bright enough" to go it alone or "bright enough" to pick a good "expert"? And, of course, the BIG question, can you really believe what the candidate/party is telling you? We all know that what candidates/parties SAY, to get your vote, and what they actually DO, after getting elected are not often quite "as advertized". ;-)

if somebody can defend his own political view correctly and in a persuasive way ,I can say that he can be seen as intelligent one..

The way I see it, most political ideologies have been started by certain leaders or have certain leaders. The leaders are usually intelligent, the intelligent of the people that follow them can vary due to many factors.

Originally Posted by MadLib

This issue has plagued political debate ever since it began: the claim by both sides that the other is intellectually inferior to them. Some people think this way, others don't. Do you think there is a correlation between political views/platforms and intelligence?

Not really. What I see is a correlation between political views/philosophies and WISDOM, not Intelligence.

I suppose I am just barely intelligent enough to realize there are more than two sides.

Building only upon my personal experience, the answer is no. What I do see is a correlation between dumb arguments and intelligence, as dumb people usually lack good reasoning skills and are prone to committing logical fallacies.

Yes. If you don't completely agree with me, you're an idiot.

Originally Posted by Gardener

I suppose I am just barely intelligent enough to realize there are more than two sides.

Alright, fine (even though two sided control the MAJORITY of American voters). Does a person taking a certain side correlate with their intelligence in any way?