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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™
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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Alfred Russel Wallace Notes 19: Social Evolution's Useful Idiots, Charles H. Smith
Alfred Russel Wallace Notes 19: Social Evolution's Useful Idiots, Charles H. Smith
Faculty/Staff Personal Papers
In today’s world liberals look at conservatives as the villains, and vice versa. How did this come to pass? In this essay a model of the biological roots of liberalism and conservatism is advanced; this is followed by a discussion of why cognitive dissonance may represent the key process in our social evolution. Alfred Russel Wallace’s experience with cognitive dissonance is then detailed, including how he dealt with it.