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Are more crowded regions necessarily more liberal?

German guy

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Just an idea:

Let's assume for a moment that "liberal" means "in favor of more (government) regulation" and "conservative" means "in favor of less regulation", for the sake of the argument. We see that in America, the more crowded a place is (especially big cities), the more liberals there are. And the less populated a region is, the more conservative people there are.

(Western) Europe is mostly considered "liberal" by American standards, or at least people seem to be more fond of regulation there. And Europe has a much higher population density than America.

Could it be that more crowded places simply require more regulation to run well? And people living there simply notice that?

Obvious example would be traffic: When you're on a street somewhere on the countryside, where one car passes per hour at best, it's obvious that there is less regulation required than, say, in the center of a metropolis like New York city to make the traffic run smoothly, where there are thousands of cars passing each hour, if not dozens of thousands, as well as pedestrians.

What do you think? Is that at the core of the truth, maybe a major reason for this divide, or is this idea simplifying reality way too much?


Sorry if that idea is silly, it's really late over here. ;)
 
There are many factors. I think, in general, There are larger gaps between the rich and the poor in cities. Housing is more expensive. The poorer people living in cities have to deal with a large amount of competition for jobs and they are more vulnerable to thinking government can help them instead of helping themselves, they see this example because a lot of money and government funding goes into and out of cities and tend to have a view of government as being a means of providing things/improving thing/etc.

inside cities people tend to be more dependent, while outside cities more independent.

liberals value the dependence the population has on the community to make everything the best it can be.

conservatives value the independence of hard work and being personally responsible for yourself.
 
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You have to be a lot more tolerant to live in densely populated areas where there are many different kinds of people who could be radically different from you, but at the same time it teaches you to see the same humanity in all of them. If you don't learn some degree of acceptance then everything is going to annoy you and you'll never be happy. And cities of course have many values clashing so more rules are probably needed for the sake of organization and ease.

People who live in isolation, remote locations, or tiny towns seem like they don't want to be bothered by anything too socially or culturally challenging. One of the things I loved about visiting my grandmother's farm was that no one ever bothered you. You could have a fire in the backyard, go for long walks in the woods day or night, and basically do whatever you want without anyone bothering you. You also learned to provide for yourself. Maybe that's where some conservative values come from.

But hey... there are people in the city who move to the countryside, and people in rural areas who jump ship as soon as they reach adulthood and head for the city. A lot of young people grow up and behave oppositely to how their families raised them to be. So it's not so black and white, and individual personality likely plays a role!
 
Those who vote and live Liberal tend to flock to the big cities, more of their own kind, social outlets, much less they have to do for themselves, more government services and they are more accepted there, more opportunities to espouse crackpot causes, liberal universities, etc.. Liberals tend to be ridiculed and disliked in the American West, they stick out like sore thumbs and there are few support systems for them or their strange, anti-American ravings.
 
Those who vote and live Liberal tend to flock to the big cities, more of their own kind, social outlets, much less they have to do for themselves, more government services and they are more accepted there, more opportunities to espouse crackpot causes, liberal universities, etc.. Liberals tend to be ridiculed and disliked in the American West, they stick out like sore thumbs and there are few support systems for them or their strange, anti-American ravings.

I guess with a few minor changes, your statement could be made about conservatives as well, I guess. ;)
 
I guess with a few minor changes, your statement could be made about conservatives as well, I guess. ;)

Was your post reviewed by the Department of Redundancy Department?
 
Just an idea:

Let's assume for a moment that "liberal" means "in favor of more (government) regulation" and "conservative" means "in favor of less regulation", for the sake of the argument. We see that in America, the more crowded a place is (especially big cities), the more liberals there are. And the less populated a region is, the more conservative people there are.

(Western) Europe is mostly considered "liberal" by American standards, or at least people seem to be more fond of regulation there. And Europe has a much higher population density than America.

Could it be that more crowded places simply require more regulation to run well? And people living there simply notice that?

Obvious example would be traffic: When you're on a street somewhere on the countryside, where one car passes per hour at best, it's obvious that there is less regulation required than, say, in the center of a metropolis like New York city to make the traffic run smoothly, where there are thousands of cars passing each hour, if not dozens of thousands, as well as pedestrians.

What do you think? Is that at the core of the truth, maybe a major reason for this divide, or is this idea simplifying reality way too much?


Sorry if that idea is silly, it's really late over here. ;)

I don't think it has to do with regulation at all, I think its more what is more important, democracy (left) or property (right), and when I say democracy I mean essencially public well bieng.

I think actually your wrong, cities are generally more socially liberal and rural areas are generally less so, though not necessarily economically left, the reason for being socially liberal is simply cities are more likely to have open minded people, who have to rub shoulders will all types of other people.
 
I believe that because of the constant exposure to different views allows for those who live in urban areas to witness more various ideologies than those who live in rural areas, thus causing more liberal ideologies due to more information on other viewpoints.
There are more people that people see who have not succeeded in the capitalist structure that we live in. More poor, hungry, and needy allow people to see what happens when the system doesn't work for people. It shows that safety nets are needed. Inside of cities, I assume due to the nature of local migration, would be more individuals who are away from their families and without a personal safety net. These people who fail may have little or no fail safe measures and require help more often than those in rural areas. They would also be more in the face of those who make political decisions.
 
Just an idea:

Let's assume for a moment that "liberal" means "in favor of more (government) regulation" and "conservative" means "in favor of less regulation", for the sake of the argument. We see that in America, the more crowded a place is (especially big cities), the more liberals there are. And the less populated a region is, the more conservative people there are.

(Western) Europe is mostly considered "liberal" by American standards, or at least people seem to be more fond of regulation there. And Europe has a much higher population density than America.

Could it be that more crowded places simply require more regulation to run well? And people living there simply notice that?

Obvious example would be traffic: When you're on a street somewhere on the countryside, where one car passes per hour at best, it's obvious that there is less regulation required than, say, in the center of a metropolis like New York city to make the traffic run smoothly, where there are thousands of cars passing each hour, if not dozens of thousands, as well as pedestrians.

What do you think? Is that at the core of the truth, maybe a major reason for this divide, or is this idea simplifying reality way too much?


Sorry if that idea is silly, it's really late over here. ;)

No not at all. Look at Atlanta, Large cities in texas except Houston, Large cities in thet south in general. Out west in the plains states. Etc. Its a matter of the history of thte region or city rather than the size.

For an example is Nuremburg as liberal as Berlin? I don't think so.
 
Just an idea:

Let's assume for a moment that "liberal" means "in favor of more (government) regulation" and "conservative" means "in favor of less regulation", for the sake of the argument.

You are starting with a misconception. Conservatives have no aversion to regulation, they just favor different types of regulations. Conservatives in general support regulations on freedom of expression, laws on what type of sex you can have and who you can marry, restrictions on what you can wear, restrictions on labor organizing, laws that promote or support religion, laws on which drugs you can possess, restrictions on lawsuits against businesses, zoning laws, and more.

This does not apply to all conservatives, esp. the libertarian ones, but it does apply to most conservatives.
 
Just an idea:

Let's assume for a moment that "liberal" means "in favor of more (government) regulation" and "conservative" means "in favor of less regulation", for the sake of the argument. We see that in America, the more crowded a place is (especially big cities), the more liberals there are. And the less populated a region is, the more conservative people there are.

(Western) Europe is mostly considered "liberal" by American standards, or at least people seem to be more fond of regulation there. And Europe has a much higher population density than America.

Could it be that more crowded places simply require more regulation to run well? And people living there simply notice that?

Obvious example would be traffic: When you're on a street somewhere on the countryside, where one car passes per hour at best, it's obvious that there is less regulation required than, say, in the center of a metropolis like New York city to make the traffic run smoothly, where there are thousands of cars passing each hour, if not dozens of thousands, as well as pedestrians.

What do you think? Is that at the core of the truth, maybe a major reason for this divide, or is this idea simplifying reality way too much?


Sorry if that idea is silly, it's really late over here. ;)

It has been a while, and there was something else that I had read on this topic other than what I am linking to that went into much more detail, but I can no longer find it. It was at the site I am linking to however (the site is not the best organized site in the world), and it was a very interesting read. The shorter article I am linking to also deals with the subject and may or may not shed some light on your question - it bugs me that i cannot find the more detailed evaluation of the topic.

Neuropolitics.org

there was more on that site at one time - it may just be hidden and I did not dig deep enough here is the link to the main page of the site in case you get a notion to go poking around to look for it.

Neuropolitics.org
 
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