POLITICSentrepreneurs, and the people who work for them, tend to be quite
dopaminergic. They are tough-minded, risk-taking, sensation-seeking,
and practical—personality features associated with liberals in the cor-
rected version of the American Journal of Political Science article.
What do we know about the politics of Silicon Valley? A survey of
startup founders revealed that 83 percent held the progressive view that
education can solve all or most of the problems in society. Among the
general public, only 44 percent believe this is true. Startup founders
were more likely than the general public to believe that government
should encourage smart personal decisions. Eighty percent of them
believed that almost all change is good over the long run. And in the
2012 presidential election, over 80 percent of employee donations from
top tech firms went to Barack Obama.
FROM HOLLYWOOD TO HARVARDAnother example of the link between dopamine and liberalism can
be found in the entertainment industry. Hollywood is the mecca of
American creativity, as well as the model of dopaminergic excess. Our
highest-profile celebrities feverishly pursue more: more money, more
drugs, more sex, and whatever happens to be the latest fashion. They’re
easily bored. According to a study done by the Marriage Foundation,
a U.K. think tank, the divorce rate among celebrities is almost twice
that of the general population. It’s even worse during the first year of
marriage when couples must make the transition from passionate to
companionate love. Newly married celebrities are almost six times as
likely to divorce compared to ordinary people.
Many of the problems actors face are dopaminergic in nature. A
2016 study of Australian actors found that despite “feelings of personal
growth and a sense of purpose in the actors’ work,” they were highly
vulnerable to mental illness. The actors identified a number of key
issues including “problems with autonomy, lack of environmental mas-
tery, complex interpersonal relationships and high self-criticism.” These
are challenges that would be most difficult for highly dopaminergic