Interesting But Flawed Argument

Sebastian Junger makes an argument that our politics are largely a product of evolution.  I'm not 100% sure I buy that, though there is some substantial evidence that our politics is shaped by brain chemistry and psychology.  One thing Junger doesn't accommodate in his piece is the new field of epigenetics that suggests that genetics can actually change during one person's lifetime.

The argument that conservatives and liberals have different brains is pretty strong.  Conservatives are profoundly unsettled by change, whereas liberals are either unbothered by it or welcome it.  Conservatives are more fearful than liberals.  This is why conservatism can be "activated" during crises.  I don't think you would find much Islamaphobia in America prior to 9/11.  It was there, but not a widely held position.  Fear of Muslims has become a unifying theme of modern conservatism, to the point where it has included Hispanic immigrants as well.

But the argument that this is wired into our genes is less persuasive. The brain is a remarkably adaptive organ.  It can and does change with new experiences. We get into a causation trap if we look at cities - which are overwhelmingly liberal - or the countryside - which is overwhelmingly conservative.  Are those populations self-sorting? Possibly.  Or is there something about living in the city that makes you more adaptive to ever-changing circumstances?  Is there something about the traditions of rural living that imbues one with greater respect for time honored ways?

Junger also, I think, misses out on the fact that conservatism and liberalism were not as exclusively partisan as they used to be.  He makes the case that people must work together to thrive as a social unit.  The problem is a Reverse Madisonian one.  Madison argued that a large polity could make for a more successful republic, because the multiplicity of interest groups would cancel out the tendency towards a tyranny of the majority.  Yet we are living today under a tyranny of the minority, albeit a large minority.  Because partisanship has become so very powerful, we are now a large enough country where you don't have to interact with your political opposites.  If you live in Oregon, you can sip your kombucha in between yoga sessions in Portland, or practice your marksmanship with your militia buddies an hour away.