Well, I am visiting my incredibly Conservative parents. I told them a little about Would Shoulda Coulda. In particular, I discussed the hypothesis that our society's choice to give "Women the Right to Vote" could have led to more Liberal results over the past ~90 yrs.
My rationale is totally based on stereotypes and wild assumptions. So take this with a few grains of salt... Very simply, sometimes women tend to be more community based and nurturing than men. There are exceptions and this may be changing, however historically this seems to have been the case.
Of course I was met with shocked disbelief... I am used to that... Thank God they Love me anyway...
So what do you think of this crazy hypothesis. Possible or not? Rationale?
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3 comments:
John, I think your hypothesis is sound. What is really holding the county back from making greater progress toward my liberal utopia is women still make up only 17% of congress. I don't know why women voters have not have greater success in electing more women, campaign financing probably has something to do with it. Also, women seem to devote more time to family and are not as willing to put in the time and risk of running for office, higher or lower.
Lastly, even if more conservative women were elected the county would be better off. What Makes Teams Smarter? More Women, says Harvard Business Review
It makes me giggle to think of you as the wild-eyed liberal in your family. ;-)
Interesting hypothesis (and not one I've heard before), but I think you're oversimplifying. 120 years ago, the vast majority of money, power, and political influence was held by a relatively small group of wealthy white men. I think the gradual shift toward a more equitable society--one where, by the latter half of 20th century, the middle class was at its most robust--occurred as previously disenfranchised groups became politically and financially empowered. Women have surely been a part of that, but so also have been unions, farmers, communities of color, immigrants (and that includes immigrant groups that we don't consider immigrants anymore--German, Irish, Italian), anti-war groups, GLBT groups, the youth of the 60s. Not all of these individually are still reliably progressive as a bloc, but at one time or another, all were trying to claim some measure of The American Dream (fair wages, voting rights, safe working conditions, nondiscrimation) as their own. It's worth noting that progressive was once more closely aligned with the Republican party, so the names may change but the song remains the same, so to speak.
In the past ten years or so, money and power have again become much more concentrated in the hands of a relatively few, reversing many of the shifts of the past century.
--Annie
I had to tell Ma and Pa the "wild eyed liberal" comment, I thought it was hilarious. They hesitantly agreed.
Thanks for reassuring me that I have not lost my mind again... Oh no, I am getting reassurance from Liberals... Ma and Pa may need to do an intervention !!!
I agree that many things have changed over the past hundred years. The women seemed key because that is one big voting block...
Remember a favorite saying of mine. "If you have a Union, you probably deserved it" Maybe those wealthy White men were a wee bit greedy, and that drove society away from protecting their interests.
However, I think it works the other way also. "If you have rules preventing Unions, you probably deserved them". (ie employees get too greedy) This representative democracy stuff is so cool...
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