POLITICSpiece and a social piece for the connection to take place. A similar asso-
ciation was found among a sample of Han Chinese university students
in Singapore, indicating that the link between the 7R allele and adher-
ence to liberal ideology is not unique to Western culture.
HUMANS OR HUMANITY?While conservatives on average may lack some of the virtuoso talents of
the dopaminergic left, they are more likely to enjoy the advantages of a
strong H&N system. These include empathy and altruism—particularly
in the form of charitable giving—and the ability to establish long-term,
monogamous relationships.
The left–right disparity in charitable giving was described in a
research report published by The Chronicle of Philanthropy. The research-
ers used IRS data to evaluate charitable giving by state based on how
each one voted in the 2012 election.^2
The Chronicle found that people who gave the highest percentage of
their incomes lived in states that voted for Romney, while people who
gave the lowest percentage of their incomes lived in states that voted for
Obama. In fact, every one of the top sixteen states for giving as a per-
centage of income voted for Romney. A breakdown by city found that
the liberal cities of San Francisco and Boston were near the bottom,
whereas Salt Lake City, Birmingham, Memphis, Nashville, and Atlanta
were among the most generous. The differences were independent of
income. Poor, rich, and middle-class conservatives all gave more than
their liberal counterparts.
2 There were some weaknesses in the data. Since it came from tax returns, it relied
on the 35 percent of taxpayers who itemize, and typically, it’s wealthier taxpayers
who itemize. Additionally, only about a third of charitable contributions go to the
poor. According to a 2011 report from Giving USA, 32 percent of donations went
to religious organizations, and 29 percent went to educational institutions, private
foundations, arts, culture, and environmental charities. In spite of these weakness-
es, the report provided an interesting overview of who is most likely to give money
to others.