Who is Left-Wing, and Who Just Thinks They Are?

A new study published by the University of Leicester Department of Economic suggests that highly educated people assume that they are left wing when they are more likely to actually be conservative. Interestingly, the study shows that some people may end up voting for more left leaning parties because they believe they are left wing, even though they are not.

“The most startling result is that the more educated tend to believe that they are more left-wing than they are measured as being,” said Dr. James Rockey, the author of the study. “That is, well-educated individuals are more likely to think that they are quite left-wing but actually believe things that compared to the rest of the population would make them comparatively right-wing.

“The analysis suggests that the cause of this is different to the effect of gender, income, or job type. Other results suggest that men and those with higher-incomes are more likely to both think that they are rightwing and to be measured as such.”

Dr. Rockey said that one reason for this result may be that people believe they maintain their left leaning views despite the fact that changing circumstances and social networks may push their opinions rightward over time. This could be because these people compare themselves to their immediate social and work network rather than to the population at large.

“The broad conclusion of the paper must be that individuals either choose not to, or are unable to, locate their ideological positions reliably compared to those of the positions of their compatriots.

“This is further evidence not just that voters are far from fully informed, but that somehow voters consistently misperceive where they lie on the ideological spectrum.”