Rightwingers love the stereotype of the ‘whining liberal’. Have they got a point? Or is it self-entitled conservatives who are more likely to complain? Find out by answering the following:
How likely are you to complain to an official body (eg Ofcom) if you are unfairly treated by your bank or broadband provider?
a) Never I’d try to resolve it with the company or live with the bad service.
b) Pretty unlikely It would have to be something very serious.
c) Reasonably likely If a company didn’t sort it out, I’d usually take it further.
d) Very likely I’d never let a company get away with treating me unfairly.
So what does this say about your politics? According to a new study at the University of Illinois, you are more likely, if you answered (c) or (d), to have liberal views, and if you said (a) or (b), to have conservative views.
The researchers found a link between complaints to consumer finance/watchdogs and voting districts, with more coming from liberal-voting areas. To find out why, they conducted a questionnaire asking about political beliefs, likelihood of complaining, and reasons for doing so, or not doing so. They found conservatives more likely to believe existing systems were right and appropriate, even when left personally disadvantaged. So the conservatives are right about one thing: liberal leaners are more likely to complain.
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