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# Posted 1:25 AM by Ariel David Adesnik

IS IT REALLY EVER POSSIBLE TO CHANGE ANYONE'S MIND ABOUT POLITICS? Joe Gandelman approvingly points to some scientific evidence that the answer is 'no'.

Although I rarely if ever disagree with Joe, I'm going to have to go against him on this one. Over a matter of days, months, or even a few years, very few staunch partisans change their minds about fundamental issues. Instead, change takes years. And when it happens, it's very hard to attribute it to a rational argument that someone heard at some point in the past.

Remember, Ronald Reagan was once a strong Democrat. Scores of neo-conservatives were once on the far left. And change happens in the other direction as well.

Personally, I have gone from being a very liberal Democrat, circa 2000, to an independent primarily known for right-of-center opinions about foreign policy.

What changed? It's hard to say. Naturally, I think that I made a rational decision based on newly available information. Then again, I'm hardly objective enough to know whether emotional influences may have gotten the better of me.

Perhaps the real strating point for a serious investigation of this question is to look at how consistent our political views are over the course of a lifetime. My sense is not very.

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Comments:

I don't think there is any contradiction between the scientific evidence and what you are saying and what Joe is saying. The important point is that the decision is not made "rationally" or to use a more loaded phrase, it is not "reality-based", and that the evolution of views happen over a long time, not on the basis of any one argument.

That political views change over time and circumstance is pretty clear, hence Winston Churchill's quip about age 20 and age 30.

While there are charges of hindsight bias flying around, there's more than enough evidence, including fMRI, to show that we don't hindsight bias to explain the polarization.

# posted by

Anonymous : 10:11 AM

I mostly agree with Robert Bell. I only disagree with his assertion that the change is not rational or reality-based.

But interpreting Gandelman narrowly to mean one person convincing another during one or a few discussions would be an extraordinary situation. But I think all thoughtful people experience an evolution of their political thinking over the course of their life, as experience, exposure and reflection expose the flaws in initial impressions.

# posted by

tim maguire : 10:28 AM

The real question is: "Did I change, or did the political partys change" If you hear recordings, or read policy speeches of John F. Kennedy, and compare it to speeches given by party officials today, what changed? Me or the party? Republican welfare reform was far more consistent with the original ideas as laid out but the FDR addmin than later Democratic modifications, but are far different from the ones they held at the time.

# posted by

Anonymous : 10:20 AM

Does this mean that moderates are the sluts of democracy? Do they go both ways for fun? Or are they just trying to fill their hollow souls?

# posted by

Anonymous : 12:03 AM