Are "extreme" right wing people less intelligent ?

[CCIP]

Here's what I consider a litmus test for intelligence as regards beliefs and convictions: notice the repeating words and phrases people rely on when making their arguments on something they're angry or upset about. Then ask them to explain what it is what they're upset about, WITHOUT using those words at all. Intelligent people will be able to explain it in plain language and still make sense. Those with extreme beliefs will either make no sense, or get really angry at you, or both.

[Stealhead]

Originally Posted by CCIP

Here's what I consider a litmus test for intelligence as regards beliefs and convictions: notice the repeating words and phrases people rely on when making their arguments on something they're angry or upset about. Then ask them to explain what it is what they're upset about, WITHOUT using those words at all. Intelligent people will be able to explain it in plain language and still make sense. Those with extreme beliefs will either make no sense, or get really angry at you, or both.

Goes a bit like this

[Oberon]

Originally Posted by Stealhead

Goes a bit like this

I'll go with that. I wouldn't say that left or right are any less or more intelligent than each other, extremists in general tend to be a little less willing to question matters and a bit more willing to follow the party line, so long as that party line is not of mainstream opinion.
I honestly wouldn't even say that the right are louder than the left, it's just that we only hear certain parts where we are, and it also depends a lot on who is in power. If a left wing leader is in power then the right wing extremists will be the loudest, if a right wind leader is in power then the left wing extremists will be the loudest. Tis the nature of the beast.

[August]

“Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?”
― George Carlin

Some people use the word "extreme" in the same way.

[nikimcbee]

Originally Posted by August

“Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?”
― George Carlin

Some people use the word "extreme" in the same way.

I'm going to go with this answer. I'll just add, it must be getting close to political season.

[Relmu]

Are people on the right...less intelligent. Given that the majority of right wing people in my country are earning twice as much on average as the left wing... I'm starting to wonder whether the left wing people are intelligent in the right respects.

Now what I will say is less intelligent people tend to be right wing. (There's a careful distinction here). This is because from my limited experience "Taking a sledge hammer to crack a nut" is what less intelligent people do... and guess what using extremely large weapons are associated with...

Or another example is parents who are less intelligent might say, "Do as I say and not as I do." or something to that effect. Where as a parent who is more intelligent might suggest, "This is what I am doing and why I am doing it. These are the advantages and disadvantages." One is authoritarian, the other is libertarian and again associated with right and left respectively.

Of course, intelligent people can be both because they have weighed up all the facts, decided what they believe in and where the evidence points to form their decision. Less intelligent people can also be both depending on what environment they are in, but given an unbiased environment I think would take the sledge hammer rather than the nut cracker.

Maybe I'm a little biased as I'm not just a Libertarian-Collectivist I'm a European Libertarian-Collectivist .

[Oberon]

Communist! Get him!!

Originally Posted by nikimcbee

I'm going to go with this answer. I'll just add, it must be getting close to political season.

Only in Europe, although since the US political season starts about five years before the next election...
In Europe we have quite a few elections this year, the UK, Spain, Denmark, probably Greece again before the year is out.

[AngusJS]

Originally Posted by Relmu

Are people on the right...less intelligent. Given that the majority of right wing people in my country are earning twice as much on average as the left wing... I'm starting to wonder whether the left wing people are intelligent in the right respects.

The thing is, a university professor in the left-leaning academy makes much less than a broker on right-leaning Wall Street. But I'd say it takes more intelligence and knowledge to do the former than the latter, thus it's a mistake to tie intelligence and knowledge to earning potential.

On the whole, people on the right and the left have the same general level of intelligence, defined as the ability to obtain knowledge.

However, if we define knowledge as having access to facts in your mind, then the left is more knowledgeable than the right. The right tends to accept fundamentalist religious dogma more, and reject science more. This happens less on the left.

Even comparing the far left to the far right, I would say the far left accepts more facts about the world than the right. "Capital" blows the bible out of the water in this regard.