# Conservative & liberal are meaningless labels. It's really all about getting pussy & making babies **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 19, 2010, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-liberal-are-meaningless-labels-its-really-all-about-getting-pussy-making-babies/536579 "2010-04-19T01:02:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-liberal-are-meaningless-labels-its-really-all-about-getting-pussy-making-babies/536579/21 "2010-04-20T14:49:14Z")
No, it’s equivalent to saying, “correcting for some cultural factors”. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-liberal-are-meaningless-labels-its-really-all-about-getting-pussy-making-babies/536579/22 "2010-04-20T14:52:03Z")
So we should be trying [not to think about Lakoff](http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Think-Elephant-Debate-Progressives/dp/1931498717)? ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-liberal-are-meaningless-labels-its-really-all-about-getting-pussy-making-babies/536579/23 "2010-04-20T15:23:43Z")
Really Not All That Bright, taking account of white people and ignoring black people in a study because you want to correct for some cultural factors is equivalent to saying that white people are the cultural norm and black people are some strange cultural outliers. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-liberal-are-meaningless-labels-its-really-all-about-getting-pussy-making-babies/536579/24 "2010-04-20T15:28:02Z")
In a sense, they are. Black people overwhelmingly vote for Democrats, but are socially quite conservative in certain regards - abortion and gay rights especially, which are extremely closely tied to sexual attitudes and “mating strategy”. ETA: In the same way, I might elect to correct for the Asian American vote in certain types of poll, since they’re typically quite socially liberal and fiscally conservative. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-liberal-are-meaningless-labels-its-really-all-about-getting-pussy-making-babies/536579/25 "2010-04-20T15:35:09Z")
What you’re saying then is that being economically conservative (or liberal) is obviously tied together with being socially conservative (or liberal, respectively), and anyone who doesn’t tie those two things together is part of some weird cultural outlying group. Have you considered the possibility that it’s American whites who are the weird cultural outliers for insisting on tying together economical conservatism (or liberalism) and social conservatism (or liberalism, respectively)? ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-liberal-are-meaningless-labels-its-really-all-about-getting-pussy-making-babies/536579/26 "2010-04-20T16:48:27Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > You know, astro, you seem to read a lot of things and immediately get interested in the theories espoused. You then rush to the SDMB and tell us about the theories. It’s good that you want to talk with other people about the things you read, but I hope that you’re learning that you can’t completely trust anything you read (including things you read on the SDMB) and you need to slow down and think for yourself about the things you read. You know, Wendell, I think you are getting more out of the post than I’m putting into it. As some have rightfully pointed out evolutionary psychologists do love their just so hypotheses, and in some cases it’s practically deconstructed structural functionalism. If I see an interesting hypothesis I’ll point people to it for general consideration. It’s not my intention to do an incisive meta-analysis on IMHO or MPSIMS topics before I toss them onto the SDMB bulletin board. The main point of my posting them is to get feedback from people who know far more about the topics than I do, and can provide some guidance as to whether the author or the paradigm being pimped is full of crap of not. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-liberal-are-meaningless-labels-its-really-all-about-getting-pussy-making-babies/536579/27 "2010-04-20T17:32:31Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > What you’re saying then is that being economically conservative (or liberal) is obviously tied together with being socially conservative (or liberal, respectively), and anyone who doesn’t tie those two things together is part of some weird cultural outlying group. Have you considered the possibility that it’s American whites who are the weird cultural outliers for insisting on tying together economical conservatism (or liberalism) and social conservatism (or liberalism, respectively)? I’m not saying any such thing. Weeden is an American academic, and he’s specifically discussing liberal _attitudes to sex_ versus conservative attitudes to sex, as opposed to liberalism versus conservatism. In that regard, it doesn’t make sense to include African-American and Hispanic voters with liberals, because they are actually quite conservative on those specific issues- even if they self-identify as liberal and/or vote Democrat. On the other hand, you can’t just toss them in with conservatives, either. ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-liberal-are-meaningless-labels-its-really-all-about-getting-pussy-making-babies/536579/28 "2010-04-20T20:23:12Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Saying “among white people” is equivalent to saying “if we ignore the majority of liberals who would have many children”. Yes, that why I put the qualifier there. I’ve always been suspicious of researchers who present data about whites (or college students or the middle class or …) and make conclusions about the entire human race. That’s one of the reasons why I don’t take evolutionary psychology seriously. In this case, it seems plain to me that the broad differences between how mainstream liberals and conservatives approach child-rearing and family life do exist, roughly as described in the article. I think the article’s attempt to tie it to differing caveman genes is a joke, but the difference does exist. > [@Really Not All That Bright](#): > > ETA: In the same way, I might elect to correct for the Asian American vote in certain types of poll, since they’re typically quite socially liberal and fiscally conservative. Are Asians really socially liberal on average? My Asian-American friends in college often suggested that the stereotype of the domineering Chinese mother who strictly forbids her children to have fun or explore everything is real. Of course you may be right. I’m just asking if there’s any evidence. > [@astro](#): > > The main point of my posting them is to get feedback from people who know far more about the topics than I do, and can provide some guidance as to whether the author or the paradigm being pimped is full of crap of not. It is full of crap. I’m not an expert; I know barely anything about psychology, but I can see that it’s full of crap. If you want to read an expert takedown of the field of evo psych, [here’s a good one.](https://blackboard.newpaltz.edu/bbcswebdav/users/geherg/Glenn_Geher_Continuous_Works/Evolutionary%20Psychology/Panksepp,%20J.,%20&%20Panksepp,%20J.%20B.%20(2000).%20The%20seven%20sins%20of%20evolutionary%20psychology.%20Evolution%20and%20Cognition.pdf) ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-liberal-are-meaningless-labels-its-really-all-about-getting-pussy-making-babies/536579/29 "2010-04-20T22:46:04Z")
> [@ITR\_champion](#): > > I and everyone I know chose my political and religious beliefs based on what I think is right, not because of anything related to having children. The original idea is probably bonkers, but this wouldn’t be a good reason. When people are looking for booty they don’t generally think of the children, and yet… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-liberal-are-meaningless-labels-its-really-all-about-getting-pussy-making-babies/536579.md?page=1)