Societal Demographics

The 2020 electorate above breaks Trump and Biden voters into four quadrants:

• 17 percent are populists — economically liberal, culturally conservative

• 32 percent are conservatives — economically conservative, culturally conservative

• 46 percent are liberals — economically liberal, culturally liberal

• 5 percent are libertarians — economically conservative, culturally liberal

While this breakout seems reasonable, it still leaves me wondering exactly where I fit. Certainly not at one of the extremes – I'm neither a liberal liberal, nor a conservative conservative – but I'm not sure if I fit into either of the minority categories. While sometimes I am economically conservative, at other times I certainly lean more liberal. The same could be said for my cultural outlook. Both progressive and conservative ideas play into my personal ideology, so I guess I fall somewhere in a gray area. But then, I'm guessing so do most Americans. Maybe the four-category breakdown is over simplified. The middle ground needs better delineated.

I would love to see this correlated somehow with other variables such as education, income, or occupation. That would be far more telling, methinks!

If I had to put a label on my collective beliefs, it would be hard to do. I suppose that is why I am registered as an Independent. I do not subscribe to nor do I employ labels as a way of classifying others, let alone myself. But if I had to commit to some point of view for some reason, I am very comfortable saying that I generally stand in favor of any proposal or standard or candidate that grants or expands my freedom, and I stand against any measure or candidate that seeks to regulate or take away my freedom. In today's world, that's a pretty progressive outlook, conservatively speaking!