Book Review: Liberal Hearts and Conservative Brains

 by Steven D. Laib  

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Is it true that “If you are young and not liberal then you have no heart but if you are old and not conservative then you have no brain”?

Liberal Hearts and Conservative Brains by Ron Lipsman
iUniverse, Inc.
www.iuniverse.com
ISBN:978-0-595-46320-6

In writing Liberal Hearts and Conservative Brains Professor Ron Lipsman sets out to test the theory that people tend to gravitate toward conservatism as they age; that the maxim ascribed to either Churchill or Disraeli that “If you are young and not liberal then you have no heart but if you are old and not conservative then you have no brain”. Because he is a mathematician and professor at the University of Maryland, one might expect that perhaps it would be a statistician's dream with tables of data, charts and graphs, illustrating polling data, social trends, quotes from behavioral science studies, and the like; in short, something very few people would want to read. This is precisely why, in a burst of conservative logic and good sense the professor has, instead, written what approximates a 250 page op/ed piece; exactly what he tells the reader that he set out to do. Not only does he do that, but he does it in an entertaining and informative style that makes it as close to a page turner as a book of this sort is likely to be.

Instead of relying on polls and statistics, Professor Lipsman takes on a journey through his own analysis of the situation, developing an analytic system based on modern political realities and how different people may view them, generally, and in light of age based and other rationales including absolutism vs. relativism, opportunism vs. egalitarianism and pragmatism vs. idealism. He develops 24 issue areas which are then subjected to examination and given a positive, negative or inconclusive result, leading to his final summary conclusion. All if this is presented in a pleasant, almost chatty style that anyone can read and enjoy, without taxing their brain. The analysis is punctuated by Lipsman's evaluation of past political history in the United States, and present trends. He also includes his observations of political attitudes observed in the university faculty setting, and the experiences that led him away from his past liberal views and toward the conservative outlook that he has today.

Unlike David Horowitz who was shocked into re-evaluating his viewpoint by the violent events he encountered while associating with the Black Panther Party during the 1970's, Ron Lipsman took a very different and much more peaceful journey to where he is today. His personal story is also extremely entertaining and gives us a marvelous window on why he believes as he does. It also provides an understanding of his optimistic view point on America today; something that many political observers do not agree with. Professor Lipsman, perhaps gives the American people more credit than they deserve, in that respect. He has good reasons for this optimism, but they are not ironclad. That is where the one weakness of this book exposes itself.

A mathematics professor is not as likely to be exposed to the same level of intense political opinion as a professor in a social science department, or an non-academic who spends the majority of his/her time in political observations and analysis. Thus, when he suggests, for example that liberals and conservatives generally agree on such subjects as patriotism, faith in America, tolerance and that your home is your castle, he is likely to find that there is a lot of variation in opinion on these subjects, not only between liberals and conservatives, but within those divides. Professor Lipsman does note that liberals in America today are more willing to play dirty in the political game and that they are heavily invested in maintaining their power, but he does not resolve this issue. It is probably better that he didn't, as it would vastly increase the size of the book, and would stray widely off topic. At the same time, his common sense analysis of what happened to conservatism in the early part of the 20^th century, while short, is extremely well reasoned and puts to shame many of the opinions of political science “experts” who don't seem able to make sense of what really went on. This short section, by itself is well worth reading and more than makes up for the book's less than consequential weakness.

While I may differ in my outlook on America's political future I truly do hope that Professor Lipsman's optimistic outlook is more accurate than my own. We more need positive energy in the political environment today, and if more of our political activists and office holders had his understanding of what is probably best for the nation we would all be a lot better off.

Put this book down on your list as a valuable resource on understanding recent political history as well as the age / ideology issue. It can also provide an excellent model for anyone interested in a non-quantitative analysis of modern social issues. It is a work that essentially anyone and everyone will find it beneficial to read.

Dr. Ron Lipsman is Senior Associate Dean in the College of Computer, Math and Physical Sciences at the University of Maryland. His home page may be found at http://home.comcast.net/~ronlipsman/index.html. He maintains a blog at http://thewritestuff.townhall.com/

Politics: General, Book Reviews, Political Theory, Humanities, Language, Academia, Histo

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