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Are men more likely to be libertarian than women?

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Are men more likely to be libertarian than women?

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CrazyCoot Posted: Sun, Jan 10 2010 3:13 AM

Does sociobiology have anything to say about this?   What about the impact of being a mother; does that have an effect? 

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Praetyre replied on Sun, Jan 10 2010 3:50 AM

Well, as a general rule, I'd say yes. Most libertarian thinkers and politicians are men, and the same thing goes for conservatives. Women, when they are politically active, almost universally seem to join the left. Hillary Clinton, Emma Goldman, Helen Clark, Golda Meir, Jiang Qing, Ariana Huffington.. the only conservative women who I can think of off the top of my head are Ann Coulter, Michelle Malkin, Laura Schlessinger and Sarah Palin, and I can't think of any libertarian women.

Of course, correlation does not prove causation, so having an XX chromosome doesn't necessarily make one inclined to leftism. But at least as of the present, the historical trend is for politically active women to be left wing.

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Leviathan replied on Sun, Jan 10 2010 3:54 AM

Short of peer-reviewed empirical research, you have only your own anecdotal perceptions to guide you to an answer. My own yield the result that there are more male than female self-identified libertarians of any stripe, and that goes with radicalism in general. I don't know why that is, but sexist insinuations that women's softness and emotion lead them to the left en masse will probably ensure that that stays the case.

The workmen desire to get as much, the master to give as little as possible...It is not difficult to foresee which of the two parties must force the other into a compliance with their terms. -Adam Smith

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Sieben replied on Sun, Jan 10 2010 8:27 AM

Leviathan:
there are more male than female self-identified libertarians of any stripe, and that goes with radicalism in general
Fewer than 20% of new engineering graduates are women. Men make up 90% of doctoral engineers.

I tried to google what the gender gap is in liberal arts majors, but it just brought up a bunch of African American Women's Studies programs.

 

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Beefheart replied on Sun, Jan 10 2010 10:43 PM

Praetyre:
and I can't think of any libertarian women.

Wendy McElroy, Isabel Paterson, and Rose Wilder Lane all spring to mind immediately.

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CrazyCoot replied on Sun, Jan 10 2010 10:48 PM

 But what about in general?  I mean if you were to ask 10 men at random and 10 women at random would there be a substantial difference in the number of self-identified libertarians between the genders?

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NewLiberty replied on Sun, Jan 10 2010 11:07 PM

Obama approval is always 6 points higher among females

 

http://www.gallup.com/poll/121199/Obama-Weekly-Job-Approval-Demographic-Groups.aspx

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JosephBright replied on Sun, Jan 10 2010 11:10 PM

Beefheart:

Praetyre:
and I can't think of any libertarian women.

Wendy McElroy, Isabel Paterson, and Rose Wilder Lane all spring to mind immediately.

Also, Mary J. Ruwart. Yes, they are rare but they do exist. 

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Merlin replied on Fri, Jan 15 2010 4:57 PM

I believe that women tend to care somewhat less about politics in general, and when you care little about something yet it is considered imperative to have some view on the subject, you just grab what is receiving the most publicity: hence women tend to the left, but few will entertain a lengthy debate on the subject, I suspect.

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Nielsio replied on Fri, Jan 15 2010 6:03 PM

From a young age, females are pushed to be pretty instead of to think (even less than males).

Libertarian women can be amazing:

VforVoluntary.com | Youtube.com/Nielsio | Reddit.com/r/austrian_economics
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Leviathan replied on Sun, Jan 17 2010 7:29 AM

LOL, I blazed it with her and Scott Horton. So don't get me wrong; I don't let ideology get in the way of personal relationships. :D

The workmen desire to get as much, the master to give as little as possible...It is not difficult to foresee which of the two parties must force the other into a compliance with their terms. -Adam Smith

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Saan replied on Sun, Jan 17 2010 10:41 AM

Leviathan:

LOL, I blazed it with her and Scott Horton. So don't get me wrong; I don't let ideology get in the way of personal relationships. :D

.  Not very nice to give names. what is your real name blazer?

 Criminals, there ought to be a law.

Criminals there ought to be a whole lot more.   Bon Scott.

 

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Leviathan replied on Sun, Jan 17 2010 10:47 AM

Saan:
Not very nice to give names. what is your real name blazer?

Julian Enrique Gutierrez Aldana, son of Norma Lisette Aldana Rodriguez and Salvador Grajeda Gutierrez. Why do you ask?

The workmen desire to get as much, the master to give as little as possible...It is not difficult to foresee which of the two parties must force the other into a compliance with their terms. -Adam Smith

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Saan replied on Sun, Jan 17 2010 10:56 AM

The state has a long reach.  If you violate its laws it can and will put you in prison.  Why give someone's real name, beside your own.  I would be pissed.  Give your name as much as you want.  Give others the same courtesy, that is all. 

 Criminals, there ought to be a law.

Criminals there ought to be a whole lot more.   Bon Scott.

 

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Spideynw replied on Sun, Jan 17 2010 12:00 PM

CrazyCoot:

 But what about in general?  I mean if you were to ask 10 men at random and 10 women at random would there be a substantial difference in the number of self-identified libertarians between the genders?

It depends on what is significant.  At random, if you ask 10 men or 10 women if they are libertarian, your results would probably be 0 for both.

At most, I think only 5% of the adult population would need to stop cooperating to have real change.

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Leviathan replied on Sun, Jan 17 2010 12:20 PM

Saan:

The state has a long reach.  If you violate its laws it can and will put you in prison.  Why give someone's real name, beside your own.  I would be pissed.  Give your name as much as you want.  Give others the same courtesy, that is all. 

Yes, and my own written claims on a forum that someone smoked marijuana are certainly enough to get them 20 to life, aren't they? ;)

The workmen desire to get as much, the master to give as little as possible...It is not difficult to foresee which of the two parties must force the other into a compliance with their terms. -Adam Smith

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BlackNumero replied on Sun, Jan 17 2010 12:26 PM

Women are more left than right for a number of reasons. Women are the motherly figures, "caring", "loving" and looking out for everyone, much like the democratic party who helps the poor, disadvantaged, etc, from a number of troubles whereas conservatives/libertarians appear cold blooded and resist much more visible forms of help. Most women support "progressive" policies (child labor laws, worker regulation, anti discrimination laws) that go directly againist libertarian policies and their support for "dog eat dog" capitalism. In addition, mainly because of the mother-son link, most women are anti-war, and as such go to the left instead of the right because liberals "appear" to be more anti-war than conservatives. You also have the big ticket items, like abortion, which from at least my experience most women believe is their decision, and the overall image of liberalism, which promotes change and breaking the status quo of female discrimination, etc etc, something that conservatives and libertarians don't seem to care too much about.

 

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John James replied on Wed, Aug 22 2012 5:43 PM

I'd be interested to see this discussion resurrected.  (The OP one, not the tangent.)

 

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nirgrahamUK replied on Wed, Aug 22 2012 5:50 PM

I think there are attempts from social scientists to research this.

for example

http://www.hks.harvard.edu/fs/pnorris/Articles/Articles%20published%20in%20journals_files/Developmental_Theory_of_Gender_Gap_Inglehart_Norris_2000.pdf:

Abstract

Studies carried out in many countries in previous decades found that women were more conservative than men and less likely to participate in politics. Here, it is examined whether this traditional gender gap persists today, or whether gender cleavages in the electorate have converged, and whether the phenomenon of the modern gender gap, with women more left wing, has become evident elsewhere. The article draws on evidence from the World Values Surveys in the early 1980s, and the early and mid-1990s carried out in over sixty countries around the world. This study establishes that gender differences in electoral behavior have been realigning, with women moving toward the left of men throughout advanced industrial societies (though not in postcommunist societies or developing countries) and explores the reasons for this development, including the role of structural and cultural factors. The conclusion considers the political implications of the findings

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Fools! not to see that what they madly desire would be a calamity to them as no hands but their own could bring

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vive la insurrection replied on Wed, Aug 22 2012 6:10 PM

I don't think sniffing up sociobiology is going to lead to many good answers.  It seems like a form of scientism.  

"As in a kaleidoscope, the constellation of forces operating in the system as a whole is ever changing." - Ludwig Lachmann

"When A Man Dies A World Goes Out of Existence"  - GLS Shackle

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Kelvin Silva replied on Wed, Aug 22 2012 6:58 PM

Liberals raise their fists and shout workers rights, and equality for all.

Equal pay for women!!! Break the shackles of the domination of men. Kill the exploitation of women (even though men pay for the dinner when dating)!!!!

Its also argued that since divorces are skyrocketing, single women with children depend more on public services from the state.

“Since people are concerned that ‘X’ will not be provided, ‘X’ will naturally be provided by those who are concerned by its absence."
"The sweetest of minds can harbor the harshest of men.”

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EmbraceLiberty replied on Wed, Aug 22 2012 7:35 PM

I looked up contributions made to Ron Paul and 80% were men, very interesting.

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Neodoxy replied on Wed, Aug 22 2012 8:28 PM

"80% were men, very interesting."

Why? It's sure as hell a sausage fest around here (begging your pardon Lady Saiga)

Frankly the overwhelming majority of people who I've ever met who are at all really interested in politics are men. I only know of a handful of women I've ever seen online who are political as well..

...  It's probably because their small feminine brains can't handle the complacated thinkign that we have to use around here. That's why, as a libertatarian, I support women having no rights in the workplace, except as secrataries, and staying at home and looking after children, you know, what god wanted them to do.

At last those coming came and they never looked back With blinding stars in their eyes but all they saw was black...
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Wheylous replied on Wed, Aug 22 2012 8:32 PM

It's probably because their small feminine brains can't handle the complacated thinkign that we have to use around here. That's why, as a libertatarian, I support women staying at home and looking after children, you know, what god wanted them to do.

Welp, someone had to come out and say it. It's official now.

Although there has been questioning of Mises on the same topic:

http://libertarianleft.freeforums.org/mises-and-birth-control-t1343.html

I tried to analyze the work as much as possible.

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vive la insurrection replied on Wed, Aug 22 2012 10:20 PM

Frankly the overwhelming majority of people who I've ever met who are at all really interested in politics are men.

That may be one reason why I tend to find women more interesting than men.

"As in a kaleidoscope, the constellation of forces operating in the system as a whole is ever changing." - Ludwig Lachmann

"When A Man Dies A World Goes Out of Existence"  - GLS Shackle

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John James replied on Wed, Aug 22 2012 10:27 PM

Neodoxy:
Why? It's sure as hell a sausage fest around here (begging your pardon Lady Saiga)

http://mises.org/Community/forums/p/24055/414044.aspx#414044

 

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myhumangetsme replied on Wed, Aug 22 2012 11:08 PM

Funny, when I saw that a previous poster couldn't think of any libertarian women I immediately thought of Patterson and Wilder Lane and also Zora Neale Hurston and Mary Wollstonecraft.  Suzanne Le Follette and Edith Efron also came to mind.

I would posit that part of the reason you see less libertarianism amongst women is because the issue of women's rights appears to be settled.

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EmbraceLiberty replied on Thu, Aug 23 2012 1:18 PM

Why hasn't anyone thought of Ayn Rand? Or is she something else?

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Minarchist replied on Thu, Aug 23 2012 1:35 PM

A small minority of people use reason to choose their ethical and political principles, and everyone else uses reason (if at all) only to find justification for principles which they've already come to through intuition. Among the former group, I expect there would be about as many female as male libertarians - as reason is reason regardless of the gender of the person using it. But among the latter group, where principles originate in individual psychology, I tend to think there are more male libertarians than female libertarians. Speaking in a very general way, I think men tend to be more individualistic than women. Men tend to be greater risk-takers than women. Women tend to be more empathetic than men. Women tend to cooperate, where men tend to compete. 

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