Current Events > Have you gotten more or less conservative as you've gotten older?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Further left as I got older.

Further left for sure

Absolutely more liberal, and I was already on the left to begin with.

As a minority in America, conservatives have absolutely nothing to offer me or my family's well-being.

I keep expecting to become more conservative as everyone says I will as I get older and my income increases but nah, I'm more liberal now than I was in my early 20s

extremely further left over time

the last time i held conservative views was like when i was 15

skipped liberal

Further Left

Way further left. I don't see how anyone works shitty factory jobs 60+ hours a week and doesn't come out the other side a leftist

Gwynevere posted...

Way further left. I don't see how anyone works shitty factory jobs 60+ hours a week and doesn't come out the other side a leftist

Ignorance. Pure, literal ignorance.

I've gotten much more left as I've gotten older and more informed.

In like 2008 I was pretty conservative and while I didn't actually think he was the anti-christ, I enjoyed people saying shit like that. Or I thought he was probably coming for our guns. As I've gotten older, and matured, and realized how much bullshit was being spread out there and saw myself fall for a piece or two of it I moved more to the center.

Now I'm probably as conservative as Joe Biden is (which is somewhat.) There is 0 chance I vote for a Republican in the foreseeable future (maybe ever) though and that's because of all the bullshit that has gone in that party since Trump and how much they lied. I noticed the bullshit before but the Trump era years have just been super egregious with more and more members of the party piling on to the bullshit.

I'm simplifying it and leaving out some stuff but that's the basics.

My left wing anarchism hasn't faltered (yet) as I've gotten older.

way more liberal

over time as I learned more it became obvious the GOP want literally nothing I want and want a lot of things I don't want. perhaps the most obvious (as it's one of if not the issue I feel the strongest about) is how the GOP single handedly makes getting any gun control passed impossible.

I've gotten more liberal over time. The more I've seen how the system screws over people, particularly poor and marginalized people, the more I feel the only just thing is a major restructuring of the system regardless of how comfortable white boomers are with the status quo.

With all the terrible things that have gone on and continue to go on, I don't see how one can't become more liberal as time goes by unless one has the inability to learn or is just insanely selfish or both.

I've gotten more "Do whatever you want, as long as you're not breaking the law and not bothering anyone." as I've gotten older.

Solar_Crimson posted...

Absolutely more liberal, and I was already on the left to begin with.

As an American, conservatives have absolutely nothing to offer me or my family's well-being.

Slightly changed but same opinion

less conservative, more anarchist.

not really more conservative, but less radically left i guess

Further left.

as you get older you develop empathy and you find out how life really works and how social mobility is rigged and how racism is still a thing and you cant help but to become more liberal

Definitely more conservative. Way more. Especially since the late 2000s and onwards.

More conservative

Vicious_Dios posted...

Definitely more conservative. Way more. Especially since the late 2000s and onwards.

I have to wonder what made you change your views on taxation, regulation, and the role of government?

Torgo posted...

I have to wonder what made you change your views on taxation, regulation, and the role of government?

The modern conservatism cares not about economics, but instead about putting the boot down on marginalized groups. Hence why no Republican has even made the attempt at having a policy position on that front.

Torgo posted...

I have to wonder what made you change your views on taxation, regulation, and the role of government?

this gonna be good

for me it was less about age and more about money

my views change when i actually have something to gain and lose

As I've gotten more wealthy, and seen the same of my friends, I have become much more aware of how the deck is stacked.

still libertarian

More conservative. This mindset came from recognizing (and writing as abstractly as possible)

1) there are solutions that are generated with honest intentions but generate wildly different results in the long term due to new unforeseen environmental and social dynamics it creates
2) A lot of old traditions were created to target and eliminate specific problems and required full societal support, not opt in if you feel like it.
3) recognizing that yes, cooperation does lead to greater success but people have to be more or less forced by external forces to cooperate else they'll act in their own benefit
4) There's a tolerance level for every system. Exceed the tolerance level and the system will suffer as a result.

Basically exposure to game theory and behavioral economics redefined a lot of my beliefs. It helps that I'm invested in technology (my exposure) that forces people to behave in a certain way and it demonstrates the immense value of cooperation, however, bad actors deal sooooooo much damage to the system, thus more research is generated to create secure systems to prevent said bad actors from exploiting the system.

Torgo posted...

I have to wonder what made you change your views on taxation, regulation, and the role of government?

He just wants attention.

Was a libertarian going into and throughout most of college, by the end of college prolonged exposure to other libertarians had pushed me farther and farther left. I've kept moving farther and farther left ever since.

2) A lot of old traditions were created to target and eliminate specific problems and required full societal support, not opt in if you feel like it.

What kinda horseshit excuse is this for systemic racism

name_unknown posted...

What kinda horses*** excuse is this for systemic racism

What?
How did you get this interpretation?

Pretty sure I've stayed about the same, but conservatives in the US have gone so damn far to the right that it almost feels like I've shifted to the left, but I don't think that's happened.

GuerrillaSoldier posted...

for me it was less about age and more about money

my views change when i actually have something to gain and lose

0-34: "take that guy's stuff and give it to me!"
35-64: "stop taking my stuff and giving it to that guy!"
65+: both

I guess, the 34/35 number can move around a bit, depending on money.

I'd say more conservative, but I think it's more a case of me staying the same while liberal politicians break the sound barrier in their rocket powered regressive left race car.

UnsteadyOwl posted...

I've gotten more liberal over time. The more I've seen how the system screws over people, particularly poor and marginalized people, the more I feel the only just thing is a major restructuring of the system regardless of how comfortable white boomers are with the status quo.

my big lightbulb moment is circa 2015 when trump was campaigning. There were some random YouTube videos of random people (not necessarily conservatives) using racial slurs, or random videos of police brutality.

The comments on those videos would invariable be stuff like OMG libs get over it or this would be worse in Chicago, liberals or what part of just comply with the orders dont you get, liberals?

I couldnt, for the life of me, understand why would these people would think a video about racism, or police violence, or stuff like that be a liberal vs conservative thing, its a right vs wrong thing. Then I realized that for them, what was going on in the video is not wrong.

Started fairly conservative... then realized that many of the things I'm against (guns, homophobia, and racism to name a few) are much more prominent in conservative circles.

Economically, I went from borderline socialist as a teen to a capitalist. Im still on the left on social issues.

Less

I am almost 40 and I am definitely more left than my early 20s. The stock market collapse in 2008 right when I finished undergrad and the decimation of the economy by the time I finished grad school, followed by a few years living with my parents after 8 years of college really changed my views on the world.

I am solidly upper middle class now but that experience 12 years ago permanently changed me.

ellis123 posted...

The modern conservatism cares not about economics, but instead about putting the boot down on marginalized groups. Hence why no Republican has even made the attempt at having a policy position on that front.

But I was told they voted republican for taxes, deregulation, and "small government"... are you saying that's not really the case, and there are... you know...those other views?

:)

MC_BatCommander posted...

I keep expecting to become more conservative as everyone says I will as I get older and my income increases but nah, I'm more liberal now than I was in my early 20s

I thought this too as my income increased, but nah. I make good money and work in tech and lean further left every year, seems all my coworkers in my department are the same.

Seems to be true for every STEM friend/coworker/acquaintance Ive met. Meanwhile it seems the ones that lean right are the big income bullshitter jobs like sales/management/marketing.

Almost like theres a correlation there

Frostshock posted...

I'd say more conservative, but I think it's more a case of me staying the same while liberal politicians break the sound barrier in their rocket powered regressive left race car.

But the literal Christofascist conservatives are fine?

Solar_Crimson posted...

But the literal Christofascist conservatives are fine?

Not a thing in Canada, on average across the entire country they've maybe moved right a smidge over the past decade (but really just concentrated in the prairies).

Probably about the same. I got more liberal economically, and more (relatively) conservative socially. Oh shit, am I becoming a Bernie bro?

radical_rhino posted...

Probably about the same. I got more liberal economically, and more (relatively) conservative socially. Oh shit, am I becoming a Bernie bro?

No. Bernie is leftist socially, leftist economically. Centrist economics and right-winger social is more of anarcho-capitalist.

Was a staunch conservative throughout most of my childhood, then went through a libertarian phase around 2016.

Then I shifted hard left in 2020, and have only gotten more and more liberal since.

Torgo posted...

I have to wonder what made you change your views on taxation, regulation, and the role of government?

Weird how he hasn't replied...