Are people's political views related to their hobbies?

[Petrolheadia]

I've recently been contemplating the idea that people's politics and hobbies are correlated. Those who appreciate something that is free and non-corporate (e.g. nature, arts, religious worship) would be more likely to support left-wing, anti-capitalist positions than those who are into more material, business-based things (e.g. vehicles, economics).

It would make a lot of sense. You're likely to be more pro-corporate if you get enjoyment from observing corporate mergers,,rather than reading a small-time writer's poetry, and if your highlight of the day was brought to you by the local forest, not Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles.

So, what do you think about my theory?

I'd say that it holds a lot of weight. Many of the anti-capitalists I've seen were art folks, naturalists or among the religious, and many car guys and economists/financiers support right-wing or libertarian politics. My anecdotal evidence seems to be backing the theory.

[Borovan entered the region as he]

I've recently been contemplating the idea that people's politics and hobbies are correlated. Those who appreciate something that is free and non-corporate (e.g. nature, arts, religious worship) would be more likely to support left-wing, anti-capitalist positions than those who are into more material, business-based things (e.g. vehicles, economics).

It would make a lot of sense. You're likely to be more pro-corporate if you get enjoyment from observing corporate mergers,,rather than reading a small-time writer's poetry, and if your highlight of the day was brought to you by the local forest, not Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles.

So, what do you think about my theory?

I'd say that it holds a lot of weight. Many of the anti-capitalists I've seen were art folks, naturalists or among the religious, and many car guys and economists/financiers support right-wing or libertarian politics. My anecdotal evidence seems to be backing the theory.

Nah it's. Social economic related and influenced by friends

[Teachian]

I think connections could be drawn, but I don’t know if I’d ever rely on it to guess what my friend’s views are.

Do agree that if you like a certain thing, it’s probably going to reflect your beliefs in politics, but at a certain point humans just get too complicated to assign like that. It’d be like be looking at some Redneck in the South and going “Definitely know what their party is”. Probably plenty of people who’d have the exact views you’d expect, and plenty of people who wouldn’t.

[Ausinia]

I think it holds something, Marxism, for example, as nothing like capitalism, and is left winged

[Telconi]

I've recently been contemplating the idea that people's politics and hobbies are correlated. Those who appreciate something that is free and non-corporate (e.g. nature, arts, religious worship) would be more likely to support left-wing, anti-capitalist positions than those who are into more material, business-based things (e.g. vehicles, economics).

It would make a lot of sense. You're likely to be more pro-corporate if you get enjoyment from observing corporate mergers,,rather than reading a small-time writer's poetry, and if your highlight of the day was brought to you by the local forest, not Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles.

So, what do you think about my theory?

I'd say that it holds a lot of weight. Many of the anti-capitalists I've seen were art folks, naturalists or among the religious, and many car guys and economists/financiers support right-wing or libertarian politics. My anecdotal evidence seems to be backing the theory.

Nah it's. Social economic related and influenced by friends

Hobbies are also determined by friends.

[Petrolheadia]

I think connections could be drawn, but I don’t know if I’d ever rely on it to guess what my friend’s views are.

Do agree that if you like a certain thing, it’s probably going to reflect your beliefs in politics, but at a certain point humans just get too complicated to assign like that. It’d be like be looking at some Redneck in the South and going “Definitely know what their party is”. Probably plenty of people who’d have the exact views you’d expect, and plenty of people who wouldn’t.

I'm not saying it is universal,,but only that it's a noticeable factor.

[The Niceties of Normal Moral Constraints]

I suspect there's an inset labeled "Spurious Correlation and Selection Bias" like in an elementary statistics textbook amongst us here.

[Telconi]

I think connections could be drawn, but I don’t know if I’d ever rely on it to guess what my friend’s views are.

Do agree that if you like a certain thing, it’s probably going to reflect your beliefs in politics, but at a certain point humans just get too complicated to assign like that. It’d be like be looking at some Redneck in the South and going “Definitely know what their party is”. Probably plenty of people who’d have the exact views you’d expect, and plenty of people who wouldn’t.

There is definitely a relation. I can't imagine when I go to a shoot that anyone there supports gun bans. But then the question of cause and effect comes up. Are they pro gun because they sport shoot. or do they sport shoot because they're pro gun?

[Terra Domina]

There is evidence that personality and political affiliation are highly correlated. It seems to me that a combination of psychology, education, experience, and relationships have the most impact.

Anecdotal analysis is highly biased and unreliable.

[The Niceties of Normal Moral Constraints]

I think connections could be drawn, but I don’t know if I’d ever rely on it to guess what my friend’s views are.

Do agree that if you like a certain thing, it’s probably going to reflect your beliefs in politics, but at a certain point humans just get too complicated to assign like that. It’d be like be looking at some Redneck in the South and going “Definitely know what their party is”. Probably plenty of people who’d have the exact views you’d expect, and plenty of people who wouldn’t.

There is definitely a relation. I can't imagine when I go to a shoot that anyone there supports gun bans. But then the question of cause and effect comes up. Are they pro gun because they sport shoot. or do they sport shoot because they're pro gun?

We might actually suppose that a wide spectrum of gun regulation preferences are more or less randomly distributed among sport shooters, but that you're going to gravitate toward the more specific subset of those who share your specific view. Thereby providing the illusion that all sport shooters share your views, and that there is a strong relationship there. EDIT: I mean, by going straight to "gun bans" as the example policy, we've narrowed our observation very significantly already.

[Sycar]

Yes, they absolutely are! My hobby is shooting, taking apart, learning about, learning how to use, and designing firearms. I wasn't really politics before I got into guns, but then I realized that some people really wanted to take them away from citizens, which made no sense to me. I decided to do some research, and I found that countries with more gun control had a higher violent crime rate. My hobby of guns kind of jump-started my journey into politics, and I found that I agreed with right-wing views much more than left-wing views. My parents are conservative, so I guess my upbringing had something to do with it, but I feel like my passion of the simple yet fascinating machines that firearms are heavily influenced my political views.

[Deltanium]

I've recently been contemplating the idea that people's politics and hobbies are correlated. Those who appreciate something that is free and non-corporate (e.g. nature, arts, religious worship) would be more likely to support left-wing, anti-capitalist positions than those who are into more material, business-based things (e.g. vehicles, economics).

It would make a lot of sense. You're likely to be more pro-corporate if you get enjoyment from observing corporate mergers,,rather than reading a small-time writer's poetry, and if your highlight of the day was brought to you by the local forest, not Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles.

So, what do you think about my theory?

I'd say that it holds a lot of weight. Many of the anti-capitalists I've seen were art folks, naturalists or among the religious, and many car guys and economists/financiers support right-wing or libertarian politics. My anecdotal evidence seems to be backing the theory.

I would say it is true. I am a libertarian capitalist and I take huge pleasure in flying, going on my phone and gaming laptop and going to the local Nike store.I also pay a lot of attention to business news.

[Tyrassueb]

Yes, they absolutely are! My hobby is shooting, taking apart, learning about, learning how to use, and designing firearms. I wasn't really politics before I got into guns, but then I realized that some people really wanted to take them away from citizens, which made no sense to me. I decided to do some research, and I found that countries with more gun control had a higher violent crime rate. My hobby of guns kind of jump-started my journey into politics, and I found that I agreed with right-wing views much more than left-wing views. My parents are conservative, so I guess my upbringing had something to do with it, but I feel like my passion of the simple yet fascinating machines that firearms are heavily influenced my political views.

I'm going to need to see that research because from what I've seen countries with stronger gun control laws are safer and with less violent crimes.

[Kremlinian Russia]

Not really true, Marxists are usually heavily anti-religious and interested in economics and understanding modern conditions in a materialist manner. In the same way, many capitalists are going to be religious, and this is well known for many people, as quite often you'll see someone who thinks that religion is important but capital accumulation equally so. Hobbies and interests are influenced by the consciousness brought about by material conditions that have an effect on one's life, generally stereotyping the left as hippies and naturalists and the right as materialists is a bit of a joke considering the Marxist movement being heavily pro-violence ("You cannot make a revolution in white gloves." - V.I. Lenin) and materialism (just read anything from Marx, although 'The German Ideology' is probably the most useful for this subject), as some right wingers are staunch supporters of their clergy, who bring support to the ruling class.

To finish this claim, I'll just post a quote from Marx:

"In the social production of their existence, men inevitably enter into definite relations, which are independent of their will, namely relations of production appropriate to a given stage in the development of their material forces of production. The totality of these relations of production constitutes the economic structure of society, the real foundation, on which arises a legal and political superstructure and to which correspond definite forms of social consciousness. The mode of production of material life conditions the general process of social, political and intellectual life. It is not the consciousness of men that determines their existence, but their social existence that determines their consciousness." - Karl Marx

[The Niceties of Normal Moral Constraints]

...going on my phone and gaming laptop ...I also pay a lot of attention to business news.

I do all this too, and, well, let's say my nation's "Policies" page is reflective of my IRL responses to NS issues (or, at least as close as their satirical nature will allow me to get).

[Sycar]

Yes, they absolutely are! My hobby is shooting, taking apart, learning about, learning how to use, and designing firearms. I wasn't really politics before I got into guns, but then I realized that some people really wanted to take them away from citizens, which made no sense to me. I decided to do some research, and I found that countries with more gun control had a higher violent crime rate. My hobby of guns kind of jump-started my journey into politics, and I found that I agreed with right-wing views much more than left-wing views. My parents are conservative, so I guess my upbringing had something to do with it, but I feel like my passion of the simple yet fascinating machines that firearms are heavily influenced my political views.

I'm going to need to see that research because from what I've seen countries with stronger gun control laws are safer and with less violent crimes.

If that's true, how does Honduras (which has a total gun ban) have more violent crimes than the US?

[Bear Stearns]

I do coke
So I can work longer
So I can earn more
So I can do more coke

[Washington Resistance Army]

I'd say so, yes.

[The Niceties of Normal Moral Constraints]

If that's true, how does Honduras (which has a total gun ban) have more violent crimes than the US?

Relative soiopolitical instability and similar factors, which make Honduras highly incomparable to the United States, I'd suspect.

A more sound comparison would probably be against Australia, where a decline in homicide rates has been noted since the passage of strong gun control measures there in 1996. At least then we're comparing two well developed and stable electoral democracies, and holding many other sociocultural variables relative constant too.

Just pulling any old random place where gun control and violence happen to coincide (the conclusion we prefer!) as proof that they coincide is kinda amateurish, to be honest.

EDIT: Also, this sub-thread is probably going off OPs topic anyway.

[Telconi]

There is definitely a relation. I can't imagine when I go to a shoot that anyone there supports gun bans. But then the question of cause and effect comes up. Are they pro gun because they sport shoot. or do they sport shoot because they're pro gun?

We might actually suppose that a wide spectrum of gun regulation preferences are more or less randomly distributed among sport shooters, but that you're going to gravitate toward the more specific subset of those who share your specific view. Thereby providing the illusion that all sport shooters share your views, and that there is a strong relationship there. EDIT: I mean, by going straight to "gun bans" as the example policy, we've narrowed our observation very significantly already.

Yes, and pot smokers support bans on pot...

[Washington Resistance Army]

If that's true, how does Honduras (which has a total gun ban) have more violent crimes than the US?

Relative soiopolitical instability and similar factors, which make Honduras highly incomparable to the Untied States, I'd suspect.

A more sound comparison would probably be against Australia, where a decline in homicide rates has been noted since the passage of strong gun control measures there in 1996. At least then we're comparing two well developed and stable electoral democracies, and holding many other sociocultural variables relative constant too.

Just pulling any old random place where gun control and violence happen to coincide (the conclusion we prefer!) as proof that they coincide is kinda amateurish, to be honest.

EDIT: Also, this sub-thread is probably going off OPs topic anyway.

I actually have a big ol post on this topic that you might be interested in. Though I think some of the links are down atm.

[Pope Joan]

I cannot discern the reason behind this, but looking at my acquaintances there does seem to be a correlation. Right wingers would proclaim that those on the left enjoy "free" stuff that is really paid for by taxes, but that is just not so. Among the favorite amusements on the right are motorcycles and guns; I do not see how that jibes with corporatism though, maybe this is all correlation without causation.

[The Niceties of Normal Moral Constraints]

We might actually suppose that a wide spectrum of gun regulation preferences are more or less randomly distributed among sport shooters, but that you're going to gravitate toward the more specific subset of those who share your specific view. Thereby providing the illusion that all sport shooters share your views, and that there is a strong relationship there. EDIT: I mean, by going straight to "gun bans" as the example policy, we've narrowed our observation very significantly already.

Yes, and pot smokers support bans on pot...

Of course. Any regulation of any kind is automatically a total ban.

At any rate, I live in California, so I do actually know that "pot smokers" vary widely as to opinions concerning taxation, distribution, and relative merits of CBD vs. THC, and lots of other stuff. Oh, and having been shooting lots of times myself, I also know that gun owners vary widely in opinions concerning gun regulations, too.

I dunno, maybe it's just here that people aren't all cookie-cutter clones. That is technically possible, I suppose.

I actually have a big ol post on this topic that you might be interested in. Though I think some of the links are down atm.

For the purposes of this thread, not really. The only point I was really trying to make was suggesting that when we compare cases, we need to be very careful to control for confounding factors. I think that claim is both relevant to OP, and holds regardless of how gun control in Australia ultimately pans out.

[Telconi]

Yes, and pot smokers support bans on pot...

Of course. Any regulation of any kind is automatically a total ban.

At any rate, I live in California, so I do actually know that "pot smokers" vary widely as to opinions concerning taxation, distribution, and relative merits of CBD vs. THC, and lots of other stuff. Oh, and having been shooting lots of times myself, I also know that gun owners vary widely in opinions concerning gun regulations, too.

I dunno, maybe it's just here that people aren't all cookie-cutter clones. That is technically possible, I suppose.

I actually have a big ol post on this topic that you might be interested in. Though I think some of the links are down atm.

For the purposes of this thread, not really. The only point I was really trying to make was suggesting that when we compare cases, we need to be very careful to control for confounding factors. I think that claim is both relevant to OP, and holds regardless of how gun control in Australia ultimately pans out.

I never said that, and your words taste bad, please keep them out of my mouth.

Indeed, and yet despite the many various debate on regulatory measures, I don't recall a single pot smoker ever telling me they supported a ban on smoking pot... Perhaps such people exist, but I have yet to find one.

Indeed, which is, in and of itself, irrelevant, unless of course said regulations are bans, which just seems oddly silly to me that a person would engage in a hobby they supported the criminalization of...

[The Niceties of Normal Moral Constraints]

... maybe this is all correlation without causation.

Given how often people are likely to say "anecdotally" or "among my set of close acquaintances" in response to the question posed here, I'd suspect that this is almost certainly the case.

I never said that, and your words taste bad, please keep them out of my mouth.

Indeed, and yet despite the many various debate on regulatory measures, I don't recall a single pot smoker ever telling me they supported a ban on smoking pot... Perhaps such people exist, but I have yet to find one.

Indeed, which is, in and of itself, irrelevant, unless of course said regulations are bans, which just seems oddly silly to me that a person would engage in a hobby they supported the criminalization of...

Even if there is one particular policy that some group of <activity>-ist are generally uniform on, there are likely to be a whole host more which they are not. Or for which, at least, there is no a priori reason to assume that they are. Ergo, pointing to "sport shooters don't support gun bans" is as cherrypicked as it is mundane, and doesn't really tell us anything in particular about the larger scale correlation between hobbies and political ideology that OP is hypothesizing.

[<sticks a fork in it>]