Ronald Bailey Reports that Libertarians Are the WEIRDest People in the World
And that's something to be happy about.
WEIRD is the acronym that social psychologists have devised to describe people living in Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic societies. One big distinction between WEIRD people and the rest of humanity is a tendency to think analytically instead of holistically. A team of researchers associated with the New York University social psychologist Jonathan Haidt wondered if the distinction between holistic and analytic thinking might be relevant to America's notorious "culture war." In the course of their research the social psychologists found that libertarians are the WEIRDest people in the world. Reason Science Correspondent Ronald Bailey argues that that is a good thing.