Liberaltarians found

A new meme is circulating political blogs showing lots of fun looking graphs from OKCupid (aren't they the dating company, yes)

 

Will Wilkinson of Cato and Marketplace fame examines the graphs and makes some hypothetical conclusions. (emphasis is my own)

Let's look at the overlap of these two charts in the libertarian quadrant:

Let's call the pink triangle the "libertarian contested zone." If you're a Baby Boomer or older with views in the contested zone, you probably lean Republican. If you're Gen-X or younger and fall in the contested zone, you probably lean Democrat. 20 year-olds and 50 year-olds occupying the exact same point on the matrix may have relatively large differences in major party sympathies.

Because older libertarians in the contested zone lean Republican, they probably feel comfortable with elements of right-wing political culture that may have little or nothing to do with their opinions on issues which determined their place on the grid. They'll be fairly patriotic, find Founder worship relatively unproblematic, feel a bit antagonized by "political correctness" and relatively untroubled by casual "commonsense" race and gender stereotypes, and will generally  feel sympathetic to conservative assumptions about American identity. They're a bit hawkish and worried about Islamism. They might make a show of enjoying guns, steaks, and cigars. They're inclined to get a kick out of Glenn Beck. Or so I conjecture.

Because younger libertarians in the contested zone lean Democratic, they probably feel comfortable with elements of left-wing political culture  that may have little or nothing to do with their opinions on issues which determined their place on the grid. They'll probably be relatively cosmopolitan, inclined to celebrate diversity, and sensitive to ongoing discrimination against women, ethnic minorities, and gays.  They'll be relatively unimpressed with rhetorical appeals to the Constitution, the Founding Fathers, and the virtues of really real American red-state American identity. They're a bit dovish and worried about civil liberties under the Patriot Act. The might make a show of eating ethically, a penchant for indie rock, and a well-worn passport. They're inclined to think Glenn Beck is a maudlin fool. So I say.

So what does all this suggest?

One thing it suggests that the neo-Fusionist elements of the Tea Party movement are attractive primarily to older people. And I suspect that the more strongly certain libertarian ideas and tendencies are associated with the cultural politics of Baby Boomer conservative Republicans, the more strongly young people with libertarian inclinations will tend to identify with the Democratic Party and take on cultural assumptions and characteristics common to liberals. Here's my bottom line. Democratic-leaning libertarian young adults are the primary "liberaltarian" constituency. They are to my mind who liberaltarianism is intended for. Liberaltarianism or libertarian-liberal fusionism is not about some ridiculous practical political coalition between Larry Kudlow and Bill Galston. It is about building a coherent, appealing,  practical ideological identity for all those libertarian-ish young folks who don't want a damn thing to do with the party of old, angry religious white people.

Amen.

 

I found this assessment explains my own political situation, and the background explains why my dad thinks I'm a raging liberal when I'm not.

 

(via the daily dish)