The reason people choose one political party over the other.

Why do people choose one political party over the other? Well there are many aspects (such as theories regarding personality traits) but this article takes a differing view, although both are likely correct. But to understand the point of this article, let’s take a look at the 2012 election results broken up by county

As many of you know, every election looks very similar, the difference being a few moderate counties and swing states. But without thinking too hard, what’s the first thing that strikes you about the map?

Think about it and after you’re done, scroll down for the answer.

While there were many things to notice about the map, what’s most important to note is the fact that there’s significantly more red area than blue. Anyone who saw that who didn’t know much about U.S. politics would have said “it’s clear that the red (Republican) side won,” but that wouldn’t be true. But they would be wrong. Again, this is the 2012 election where Barack Obama won(represented by blue.)

So how is there so much more red than blue, but blue actually won? The answer is…. Population Density.

It turns out there’s a direct correlation between population density and political affiliation.

The more densely populated an area is, the more likely it is to vote for a Democrat.

Any county with over ~850 people per square mile voted for the Democratic Party in 2012. And if you know politics you know the map looks pretty similar every year with the exception of a few areas. And this is across the board. More densely populated countries are more likely to vote Democrat.

Another interesting thing to note is how areas near bodies of water (oceans, rivers and lakes), consistently vote Democrat. Let’s take a look at the map again in contrast to a map of the major US rivers/oceaon. I overlayed a map of the major US rivers on top of the 2012 election results:

With a few exceptions, it almost looks like a game of minesweeper.

Source: https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2004/3062/

Source: https://mississippiriver.natgeotourism.com

And while it may look a bit like a game of minesweeper, the correlation is possibly because cities tend to develop around bodies of water. If you look at the map you see there’s a huge cluster of cities right near the Mississippi River and Rio Grand too. Huge clusters by the coasts and great lakes as well. There certainly are other factors as well, but humans tend to gravitate toward water since we’re so reliant on it.

Speak to people from rutal areas and ask their political views. Chances are, they’ll be Republican. Then go to Midtown Manhattan or San Diego. I’m willing to bet they have very Liberal views.

It makes complete sense though. Living in a city makes you see the value of public services and the positive side of government regulation, which is why Democrats take the stances they do. New Yorkers for example, rely on government services (buses, subway) to get them to and from work. The government keeps your streets clean, regulates parking, makes sure your landlord isn’t ripping you off, picks up the trash, makes sure your neighbors aren’t blasting Metallica at 3 AM. It’s no wonder city Democrats are okay with government regulation. But in rural areas it’s more like “this is my property, don’t tell me what to do.” That’s the reason Republicans tend to want a small government. But a city couldn’t survive without government regulation. In rural areas the extra regulation is irritating to them and nearly impossible to enforce.

But it’s so fascinating. if you look at all the major stance disagreements, you realize it much of it seems to stem from a city mentality vs a rural mentality. For example, gun control. Consider the context difference between a gun in rural areas vs a the city. A shotgun in a 2007 Chevy Bronco on their way to the woods has a completely different context than someone getting on the subway with a shotgun. Most Manhattan residents certainly don’t want someone getting on the subway with a shotgun. And someone’s rural, they sure as hell don’t want the government telling them they can’t have one. When it comes time to vote, the Democrat will think of a gun and say “ABSOLUTELY NOT” while the Republicans think about what a gun means and say “YOU BETTER NOT TAKE MY HUNTING/PROTECTION TOOL.” It’s no wonder Democrats will support a candidate that’s likely to be stricter on guns while Republicans vote for a candidate that promises to let them keep their guns.

This is a great infographic breaking down the mentalities between the parties:

The left tends to focus on the community. The right tends to focus on the individual. Which in the context of the urban/rural divide makes perfect sense. Living in the city you have to be more cooperative, and rural areas you have to be more independent. You have to cut your own grass, do your own hedges. You have to know how to fix cars. In the city everyone just specializes in a certain field and you bring it to that person. That happens in rural areas too, but it’s amplified in the city. The landlord calls the guy to fix your toilet or fix your stove. In rural areas? Most people just do it themselves unless it’s a serious problem.

You need peace to thrive. You need to ensure the safety of every individual because if one gets hurt, it hurts the entire group. But for example Liberals were against the Vietnam and Iraq wars, and generally when it comes to wars the vote is lighter coming from the left. The left prefers to be diplomatic and see if a solution can be met. It seems like a learned sense of diplomacy from having to live in such close quarters.

Environmental issues? Pollution? All make sense within the context of city life vs rural life. Even the cliché of a Toyota Prius driving liberal vs a Hemi Truck driving country boy makes perfect sense given limited space and resources in a city.

People from cities are exposed to so many different cultures and diversity that it’s no wonder that they’re always fighting for racial equality and gay rights. In a city, your cab driver is Latino, your waiter is gay, your tax guy is Muslim. You went about your day and nobody tried to suicide bomb you or convert your sexuality. In rural areas you’re more reliant on stereotypes since often times you’ve never really met people of certain groups.

This is very important because it leads to the realization that the legal system doesn’t work the same for every area. National gun control laws irk people who simply want to go hunting, or want to go to the shooting range. But on the same note, a lack of gun control laws in an urban area would make people feel unsafe. Imagine if people were allowed to walk down 5th Ave with a shotgun. And imagine if people weren’t allowed to go hunting with a the same shotgun.

Even Abortion makes sense within the context of a city with limited resources

The reason that politics is such a touchy subject is that we all have to live under one roof. If there’s a left leaning president/senate/congress, they’re going to impose left leaning laws. Even in right leaning, rural states. Then you get all the people from rural, conservative backgrounds might chant “SCREW OBAMA,” or all the Urban Democrats who paint placards saying “SCREW BUSH.”

In a perfect government we should let each county determine each of it’s laws. Not only are there red counties and blue counties, but there are also infinite shades of purple in between. Moderate counties. Conservatively leaning moderate counties.

And all those things seem to be determined by population density.

Furthermore, on the political compass, there’s an entire other axis/dimension.

And on personality tests there are even more dimensions. Perhaps they’re clustering together along other dimensions as well.

So if counties could choose their own laws for the most part, it could be like those laws were custom fitted to that demographic. New Yorkers likely don’t personally care about gun control laws in South Carolina. But it seems at though this “one size fits all legal” system we have causes infinitely more tension that necessary. Certain things would have to be decided by the federal government, but counties all have different places on the political spectrum and those people group together… letting them decide for themselves might be a more ideal solution.

Anyway, it’s always fascinating looking at the causal reasons people think the way they do, and understanding where other people are coming from is super helpful in the long run.