Can mutation load explain the rise of leftism?
A potential proxy for mutational load is positively related to certain leftist beliefs, and public opinion has shifted both between and within cohorts.
Written by Noah Carl and Bo Winegard.
In a recent article in Aporia, Joseph Bronski and Matthew Archer argued that the rise of leftism since 1960 is partly explained by mutational pressure – the accumulation of harmful mutations in the gene pool. Elsewhere, Bronski has gone as far as suggesting that “Western political change is solely due to evolutionary pressure” – by which he means a combination of mutational pressure (favouring leftism) and selection pressure (favouring rightism).1
This is certainly an interesting and provocative thesis. If true, it would upend our understanding of changes in the political landscape over the last sixty years. But is it true? We are not convinced. In the remainder of this article, we will lay out reasons why. Note that Arctotherium has already published a three-part critique of the mutational load hypothesis which we would recommend reading.
