Study: Academics overwhelmingly liberal

This isn't going to surprise any right-wingers who have attended university in recent years, or anyone with their eyes open, for that matter:

College faculties, long assumed to be a liberal bastion, lean further to the left than even the most conspiratorial conservatives might have imagined, a new study says.

By their own description, 72 percent of those teaching at American universities and colleges are liberal and 15 percent are conservative, says the study being published this week. The imbalance is almost as striking in partisan terms, with 50 percent of the faculty members surveyed identifying themselves as Democrats and 11 percent as Republicans.

The disparity is even more pronounced at the most elite schools, where, according to the study, 87 percent of faculty are liberal and 13 percent are conservative.

The liberal label that a majority of the faculty members attached to themselves is reflected on a variety of issues. The professors and instructors surveyed are, strongly or somewhat, in favor of abortion rights (84 percent); believe homosexuality is acceptable (67 percent); and want more environmental protection "even if it raises prices or costs jobs" (88 percent). What's more, the study found, 65 percent want the government to ensure full employment, a stance to the left of the Democratic Party.

I suppose it could – and will – be argued that really intelligent types naturally lean left. Maybe, but I'd like to think many very smart individuals aren't satisfied in an academic setting and would rather put their intelliegnce to the test by competing in the marketplace. Thus, the right-wing brains mostly end up in business, where they must do more than just talk about how smart they are.