Authoritarians

Which is more important for a child to have...

Independence or respect for elders?
Obedience or self-reliance?
Curiosity or good manners?
Being considerate or being well-behaved?

Your answers to these questions are likely to predict your kids' political leanings, and your parents' answers to these questions are likely to predict your own partisanship.

Interestingly, this is a relatively recent phenomenon. While degree of authoritarianism persists across generations, only recently (past 50 years) has degree of authoritarianism predicted party alliances. I learned this and much from a fascinating State of Things interview 9/10 with the authors of Authoritarianism and Polarization in American Politics.

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I might be biased but I seriously believe Frank Stasio, host of the little WUNC radio show The State of Things, might be one of the best interviewers anywhere. The quality of his interviews continues to amaze me. It is to the point that even if the guest bores me, I can study the types of questions he asks and the way he phrases them and be fully entertained.