SURVIVAL OF THE SPECIOUS (via The Mother Judd):

Some Politics May Be Etched in the Genes (BENEDICT CAREY, 6/21/05, NY Times)

Political scientists have long held that people's upbringing and experience determine their political views. A child raised on peace protests and Bush-loathing generally tracks left as an adult, unless derailed by some powerful life experience. One reared on tax protests and a hatred of Kennedys usually lists to the right.

But on the basis of a new study, a team of political scientists is arguing that people's gut-level reaction to issues like the death penalty, taxes and abortion is strongly influenced by genetic inheritance.

Well, political science is certainly as scientific as Darwinism, so they may as well take their shot at Just So stories too. Ponder for a moment the hilarity of the idea that some people might have developed an evolutionary predisposition to favoring the abortion of members of their own species.

Posted by Orrin Judd at June 23, 2005 3:03 PM