Contemporary debates often seem like a collective downhill race. The participants outdo each other by rushing towards the abyss on their ideologically prepared steep slopes. The crash is coming, the end is near – but which end is meant differs depending on the camp. The time of polycrises is also the time of the know-it-alls, those voices that speak out on absolutely everything and prefer to preach their truth in the form of slogans. The xenophobic right and the identity-limited left are similar. And there is another element that could unite the two ends of the political spectrum: many of their dark diagnoses of the times and the patent solutions derived from them are probably based on shaky knowledge. Although: As is so often the case, the diagnosis turns out to be (menno!) more complex than is appropriate for a rough all-round overview.
Psychologists led by Jonas De Keersmaecker from the University of Ghent, Belgium, have looked at the connection between politically relevant knowledge and ideological orientation. Who knows well, and how does that affect the worldview? For your in the specialist journal Scientific Reports published In the study, the researchers evaluated representative data from 63,544 test subjects from 45 countries. It became apparent that at both ends of the political arena, where the loudest right-wingers are blustering, there is a comparatively lower level of political knowledge. Those who leaned moderately to the left or right were the best informed. The researchers observed a small shoal in the very middle of the political flow; here too, the knowledge was rather shallow.
So extremists from all camps are ignorant and the weak middle is disinterested? In their publication, the researchers warn against blanket judgments. The pattern described can be found primarily, but not exclusively, in the states of the so-called West, writes De Keersmaecker’s team. This described flat M-curve with two knowledge bumps to the left and right of the middle can also be seen in the data from Germany. However, scientists also found other patterns in other countries. In seven countries – including South Korea, Ireland and Turkey – the evaluation showed no connection between relevant knowledge and political attitudes. In countries like Finland, Chile or Taiwan, the data showed a linear trend: knowledge increased continuously from left to right on average. And in Argentina, Brazil and other countries it was exactly the opposite.
Why is it that the patterns of the West are not evident in all countries? The researchers argue that what is relevant knowledge and what is considered left or right is highly dependent on culture. What is considered politically moderate in South Africa, for example, may be an extreme position in the USA or elsewhere – and vice versa. However, according to other studies, it seems undisputed that extreme opinions are at home on the fringes, which are often on a collision course with so-called reality, but which give their holders a sweet feeling of superiority.