Evolution of political attitudes
I was thinking the other day about the following famous quote:
Any man who is not a liberal at 20 has no heart, and any man who is not a conservative at 40 has no mind. --Winston Churchill
I tried to look back at myself, and how I've changed in my social/political views. I know it's a common belief that most people grow more conservative as they age, but is that really true? I wonder.
I find that I have become not less, but more liberal as I age. My years at Bryn Mawr were a steep learning curve of liberal thought, and since I've left I've only edged further and further left. Is this atypical?
The trend towards conservatism with age has been said to be connected to money. As you become financially independent and stable, the money concerns begin to outweight the social concerns, and conservatism starts to creep in. For me, well...frankly, I don't really give a shit about money. As long as I can afford to live in reasonable comfort, I don't care. Sure, it'd be nice to be filthy rich, but I can't say that the desire to become so drives me. And I'm more than happy to pay taxes. More taxes, if necessary, if called upon to do so.
I wonder how general that rightward trend with age actually is. We liberals often say that the only way social fabric will ever really change is for the old, conservative population to die. But what if we're becoming the old, conservative population?
I suppose it's also possible that a person could stay the same, but their focus could change. Having kids could make you a lot more focused on education and healthcare than you were before kids.
Totally non-scientific poll!
Poll
Any man who is not a liberal at 20 has no heart, and any man who is not a conservative at 40 has no mind. --Winston Churchill
I tried to look back at myself, and how I've changed in my social/political views. I know it's a common belief that most people grow more conservative as they age, but is that really true? I wonder.
I find that I have become not less, but more liberal as I age. My years at Bryn Mawr were a steep learning curve of liberal thought, and since I've left I've only edged further and further left. Is this atypical?
The trend towards conservatism with age has been said to be connected to money. As you become financially independent and stable, the money concerns begin to outweight the social concerns, and conservatism starts to creep in. For me, well...frankly, I don't really give a shit about money. As long as I can afford to live in reasonable comfort, I don't care. Sure, it'd be nice to be filthy rich, but I can't say that the desire to become so drives me. And I'm more than happy to pay taxes. More taxes, if necessary, if called upon to do so.
I wonder how general that rightward trend with age actually is. We liberals often say that the only way social fabric will ever really change is for the old, conservative population to die. But what if we're becoming the old, conservative population?
I suppose it's also possible that a person could stay the same, but their focus could change. Having kids could make you a lot more focused on education and healthcare than you were before kids.
Totally non-scientific poll!
Poll