Why Are So Many Nerds Libertarians?

BrendanMcGrail writes "Why do so many nerds seem to lean toward the Libertarian end of the spectrum? As a leftist, I know there are many people who share my ideological views, but have very little in common with me in terms of profession and non-work interests. Is the community's political bent directly tied to our higher than average economic success?"

Comments

Re:source?

[Yoozer]

"Remember kids, "data" is not the plural form of "anecdote".

What about us libertines?

[G3ckoG33k]

What about us libertines? Don't we have a place in this scheme too?

Re:source?

[Anonymous Coward]

"

Sorry, my OCD kicked in.

Re:Capitalism :D

[flajann]

The definitions of certain words have changed over the years.

What we call "liberal" today is really *socialist*, what what used to be called "liberal" is now called "libertarian".

As far as capitalism goes, we don't have pure capitalism, either. And as far as capitalism "working" really depends on where you sit. I am sure the pan handlers I see everyday on the streets of Boston would say capitalism has failed. :-)

The real issue is power, and how power has distributed itself. In today's capitalist-driven world, politics is a joke, really. People are given the illusion of "democracy", as if their votes actually mattered. They are thrown bones daily to keep them from rioting whilst the powercrats rule and control to levels that would make any tyrant in our past green with envy!

A deeper issue of all this comes from understanding the entire system in terms of memetics, evolution, complex dynamical adaptive systems, and the like. I am currently working on a unifying mathematical system to tie all of this together, And so far the picture I am getting is truly frightening.

After my work with hypercells -- what I am calling this new mathematical system -- is complete, I will then attempt to devise an alternative power system -- one, I hope, which will deliver the maximum amount of power back to the hands of individuals and out of the hands of powercrats. Power that is self-distributed according to *need*, not greed.

But I have spoken too soon on this and for fear of looking like an utter crank will hold off revealing more until my work is much more fully congealed.

Re:source?

[Crash Culligan]

Write-up: Why do so many nerds seem to lean toward the Libertarian end of the spectrum?

j00r0m4nc3r: Can you cite your source for this data? Or are you just assuming this because some of your friends are libertarians?

Yes, please. I would love to see the source(s) for this data as well, but for different reasons. I'm primarily interested in seeing the procedures, metrics, and previous test results for the scientific test for nerdulence.

Nerditude...

Nerdacity?

Re:Rigidly defined areas of Doubt and Uncertainity

[Brickwall]

Social Conservatives make me think of guys like Foley, Craig, and Limbaugh. Two faced jerks with a agenda of sleaze.

What?! One of these guys doesn't have a face?

Re:The same reason so many are socialists

[Eunuchswear]

This is the problem with much of US war planning.

IKEA is a Swedish company.

Stupid Book

[thegnu]

Yeah, I started to read it once, and I couldn't get past the first section, which goes something like this:

Who is Milton Farbley? In the days of his youth his tongue would dry out and the dryness would make him hate the world. But was it the world he hated, or himself? Was it that he was poor, and therefore stupid? Now, old, his ass chapped from all the walking around, he started to question if other people weren't as unbearably lame as he himself.

And so I skipped ahead about 50 pages:

and it was all like, the betrayal perpetrated by Susan was pleasing to her uterus. It made it squinch tight like a ball of rubber bands when she twisted the...

Then another 50...

John couldn't bear to look at himself. Weathered features not even barely covering up an expression of rank stupidity that peirced his stupid soul with it's stupid stupidity. God how John hates himself.

Then another 50...

...but why? the steamy night was fucking unpleasant, and she could only bear to breathe shallowly while thinking of how stupid and goddamn filthy other people were. God--if there is in fact a God--how she hates those fucking people.

And so on. I'm pretty sure I got a good idea of the point of the book without having to subject myself to more than 40 random paragraphs or so. Everyone I've ever met that says they idolize Ayn Rand turns out to be a self-involved, spoiled whore.

God I hate her. But truly, do I hate her more than I hate myself? It was a muggy, shitty Sunday in St Petersburg, FL, and he began to question whether he was just posting to slashdot in a vain attempt to eke a teensy bit of self-recognition out of the Internet once again, or did he really believe that posting some inane bullshit about Ayn Rand was truly noteworthy?

He got up from his mother's computer;smelled the stale milk from the bottom of his empty coffee cup. God, he had to take a shit. And he bets it's going to be smelly, because God is spiteful like that....

Re:Because we all know

[squiggleslash]

I suspect, from the description, it was this.

Bob the Angry Flower rules!

Re:source?

[peacefinder]

Remember kids, "data" is not the plural form of "anecdote".

I've read that in a bunch of places, but I have yet to see a supporting study.

Re:Because we all know

[Anonymous Coward]

I was definitely not ever told to slow down or anything of that sort. If I wanted to jump ahead in class that was discouraged because it would hurt others by leaving the majority of the class behind.

I think you just made his point for him!