I’ve published four books that lay out and discuss the genetic basis of political ideology. In those books, I documented the data validating the theory.
When asked to fill out questionnaires focused on political and cultural topics, liberals and conservatives answer the same questions differently, revealing their respective ideologies.
MRI scans of the brains of liberals and conservatives show that their brains are different. Each has a particular area of the brain that is more developed than those on the other side. Conservatives have a more developed amygdala, which is responsible for controlling fight-or-flight behavior. This area makes them more circumspect and cautious. Liberals have a more developed anterior cingulate cortex, which enables them to monitor uncertainty better and manage conflicting information. This suggests that liberals have a higher tolerance for uncertainty, making them more comfortable with change.
Research has suggested that ideological differences between liberals and conservatives exist, at least in part, for psychological reasons. The thesis for this premise is the existence of what the researchers labelled “elective affinities.” Not only are there innate psychological differences between people, but there also are a set of social attitudes based on those psychological tendencies.
Conservative ideology differs from liberal ideology in two key ways: first, in its preference for stability and order over social change, and second, in its acceptance of inequality as natural and/or legitimate. While liberals are constantly worried about inequality, conservatives believe inequality is innate in the human social environment because groups of people will naturally select leaders.
The difference in political morality is the reason I advocate for a political consensus. Either side, with total control of the government, represents less than half the public, and those in power are prone to ideological excess. The development of tribalism in America has undermined efforts at consensus and fostered a war between the parties, one in which no one emerges as the winner.
A contributing factor to the development of tribalism was the left takeover of higher education and the media, which has allowed them to push their ideology on the rest of us. MAGA is partially a reaction against left overreach and a movement to rebalance American values. The left doesn’t understand that they can’t convert the middle and right to their mindset because those belief systems will not allow them to.
A recent study documents that nine out of ten university students fake progressive views to avoid confrontations with professors and other students. Those in the middle and right clearly adopt this behavior because they perceive that professors are lefties who wish to impose their ideology on all students. Those on the left who adopt this behavior may perceive themselves as more moderate than the faculty, despite holding liberal views.
78% percent said they self-censor on gender identity, 72% on politics, and 68% on family values. 77% percent said they disagreed with the idea that gender identity should override biological sex.
Clearly, our institutions of higher education have replaced rigorous debate over ideas with propaganda pushing ideological purity. In the best case, students will continue to ignore the propaganda because it defies common sense. All the efforts at indoctrination will be wasted – time that could have been used for more important pursuits. In the worst case, universities will be discredited and lose their ability to attract the best students.
One of my favorite sayings is “you can’t push a rope,” which applies here because you can’t make independent and conservative students into progressives. Their brains won’t let you. A more effective approach is to consider different perspectives when seeking new ideas. Good ideas come from both sides. The moderating effect of a consensus regarding the path forward creates the best solutions for the American people.
The article I used for the statistical data is:
Performative Virtue-signaling Has Become a Threat to Higher Education
by Forest Romm and Kevin Waldman, at Northwestern University, 2025
Wrong Speak is a free-expression platform that allows varying viewpoints. All views expressed in this article are the author's own.
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That there were even questions (2 you listed) on the survey about unicorns and tinker bell, I mean "gender identity," brings any discussion to a full stop. This was purposefully done by the democrats who will stop at nothing to destroy debate. Creating an evil and twisted fantasy (gender identity) and then using that to attack people is not a "mindset," but a way to bring humanity down in the gutter. Consider how many years very smart people have had to waste on fighting this miasma while solving real problems and improving life for all of us is shoved to the back burner.