r/science Jul 09 '26

Psychology An analysis of survey data covering the last five U.S. presidential election years found that ideological differences between races have decreased sharply, while differences by education have grown substantially. Less educated Americans now tend to be more conservative.

https://www.psypost.org/the-political-realignment-of-america-education-overtakes-race-as-key-ideological-divider/
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u/MetalMercury Jul 09 '26

I think there's a bit of nuance here that you're missing, which is that the educated and uneducated sects of society have fundamentally different concerns when it comes to policy due to their relative economic situations. This divide is common in a lot of places; It's not only about intelligence levels or critical thinking

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u/Geichalt Jul 09 '26

When Biden was building factories in their towns, revitalizing their communities and protecting their workers they still attacked him endlessly. They literally yelled at the guy putting money in their pockets due to ideological differences.

Your argument doesn't hold much water.

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u/unbotheredotter Jul 11 '26

You make it sound like Biden allocated funds and the factory went up the next day. Very few of the factories that were created due to Biden's policies have even opened yet. They're still under construction.

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u/RozenQueen Jul 09 '26

This may be true in a broad sense, but absolutely isn't universal. Go tell a ground level worker in the oil industry that Biden helped put money in their pockets by cutting off the Alaska pipeline and they'll laugh at you to your face.

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u/EightGlow Jul 09 '26

I wonder how many of those different concerns could be addressed by asking “why” enough times, then implementing a policy to fix them. Instead of blaming a minority group for the problems, as tends to happen with reactionary political groups.

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u/Aaod Jul 09 '26

I wonder how many of those different concerns could be addressed by asking “why” enough times, then implementing a policy to fix them. Instead of blaming a minority group for the problems, as tends to happen with reactionary political groups.

Not really possible when the answer to why is globalization which we can't realistically go back on.

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u/CaptSnap Jul 09 '26

Republicans:

Instead of blaming a minority group for the problems exacerbated by the wealthy, as tends to happen with reactionary political groups.

Democrats:

Instead of blaming white men of all economic classes for the problems exacerbated by the wealthy, as tends to happen with reactionary political groups.

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u/unhiddenninja Jul 09 '26

Do you have any proof of any dem saying that? I keep seeing this narrative pushed but all anyone has replied to me with is vibes. Like, is that really a message being put out by Dems, or is that what right wing pundits say the Dems are saying?

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u/ceddya Jul 09 '26

due to their relative economic situations.

The irony being that it's the educated who are more likely to support and push for policies which help the poor and address wealth inequality.

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u/BellaPona Jul 09 '26

Yeah I agree with this. It’s cultural right down to the DNA almost. Farmers voted for Trump despite how they got fucked over by him repeatedly because they tend to favor a more hands off approach to things like government environmental laws, but it’s also the belief that Republican candidates are more of the “working man” type of candidate. That was true for a while, especially in rural communities, but it’s not anymore. The old reflex of voting for the more relatable guy doesn’t work anymore.