Predisposed

Renowned social scientists John Hibbing, Kevin Smith, and John Alford¿pioneers in the emerging field of biopolitics¿present overwhelming evidence that different political ideologies stem not just from social and cultural sources, or because people were presented with different information. The universal rift between conservatives and liberals endures because people have diverse psychological, physiological, and genetic traits. This biologically-based, physio-cognitive machinery predisposes us to see and understand the world in different ways, which in turn accounts for a significant portion of the political and ideological conflict that marks human history. An awareness of these biological differences among us can engender tolerance and understanding.