Asymmetrical Information

From the desk of Mindles H. Dreck:

Smart=Liberal. Or was that Liberal=Smart?

This has got to be one of the funniest NYT forum contributions ever:

Here's the deal: Open-minded folk, who are able to assess information and make rational decisions that sometimes extend beyond the scope of what's best for only themselves are generally brighter folk.

To rise to a prominent position in national media requires an above-average intelligence.

Therefore, it only makes sense that a majority of those who have risen to prominent positions in the national media have liberal viewpoints.

Talk about begging the question!

Of course, other forms of success, such as...oh...the Presidency, or rising the corporate ranks require only a below-average intelligence.

UPDATE: Best of the Web has another one:

In seeking faculty, universities look for people who can analyze and discuss matters of some complexity, who are unafraid to challenge the wisdom of simple solutions, and who have a sense of social responsibility toward those who cannot buy influence. Such people tend to be put off by a political party dominated by those who believe dogmatically in the infallibility of the marketplace as a solution to all economic problems, or else in the infallibility of scripture as a guide to morality.

In short, universities want people of some depth, subtlety and intelligence. People like that usually vote for the Democrats. So what?

Stop it (gasp), you're killing me.

SECOND UPDATE: Stuart Buck's article on Supreme Court justices provides some sober contrast to the slapstick above:

In fact, "smart" people are all too often prone to fall for the belief that they alone know how to run the world, and that government should be massively centralized, so that "smart" people like themselves can make decisions properly. One sees this in the intellectuals (e.g., Heidegger) who sympathized with the Nazis, and much more so in the predilection that many Western intellectuals had for Communism and socialism. Judging from the 20th century, it seems that "smart" people are more, rather than less, likely to support the evils of totalitarianism.

Posted by Mindles H. Dreck at October 1, 2002 09:21 PM | TrackBack | Technorati inbound links