leftism is a group evolutionary strategy.
Are Liberals Crazy? part III: neuroticism and ethnic neoteny.
Neuroticism and leftism, while costly for an individual, confer group-level advantages. Leftist-neuroticism is a group evolutionary strategy, which is most pronounced in white and Jewish populations. If we define whiteness as a function of “leftist-neuroticism,” Jews could be classified as “the most white” group, with the caveat that Jews also are higher in ethnocentrism and lower in spatial intelligence than north-western Europeans.
Nietzsche lamented the passivity bred into Europeans. “Nietzschean Vitalists” claim that Nietzsche was referring to the neurotic personality type. Their story goes something like this:
Since neuroticism does not confer advantages in hand-to-hand combat, it could be hypothesized that Yamnaya invaders were higher in testosterone and lower in neuroticism than modern Europeans. If this logic were true, then the Early European Farmers, who were subjugated by the Yamnaya, would have been higher in neuroticism than the Yamnaya, perhaps due to the circumstances of their theocratic, densely populated villages, comparable to medieval shtetls or ghettos.
Richard Lynn attempted to conduct some studies on neuroticism by nationality, although it was not as comprehensive as his studies on intelligence. A more recent study conducted in 20171 does not support the hypothesis of Yamnaya being low in neuroticism, since Yamnaya ancestry is higher in north-western Europe than in Romania. The British and Irish were highest in neuroticism, which won’t come as a surprise to a reader of Caesar’s Gallic Wars, which informs us that Celts are fiery, hot-tempered, extremely religious, passionate, and hysterical.
The least neurotic countries were Romania and China, which undermines the “bug man” concept of neuroticism. Romania and China also ranked high in conscientiousness, while Ireland and Britain were at the bottom of the list.
At a national level, countries like Romania and China are the most conservative, while countries like Ireland and the United Kingdom are the most leftist. Openness, another correlate of leftism, was highest in Finland.
To come up with a “leftism score,” I added together neuroticism and openness, and then subtracted conscientiousness. The most leftist countries were Finland, Britain, Ireland, France, Sweden, and Norway. The most conservative countries were Romania, China, USA, South Korea, and Mexico. Within Europe, Germany was the most conservative country.
This study would benefit from a wider inclusion of countries from southern Europe. Spain, Italy, and Greece would be on my wish-list, as well as at least one Slavic country, like Poland, and one Middle Eastern country, like Turkey.
Although neuroticism is today correlated with low testosterone, this may be because the combination of high-testosterone and high-neuroticism produces criminality, which is suppressed and penalized. In ancient Yamnaya societies, it may have been high neuroticism and high testosterone in combination which spurred the “call to adventure.”
My hypothesis is that the Yamnaya were high testosterone leftists: high in openness, high in neuroticism, and low in conscientiousness (rule following). It is in contrast to the Chinese, who are low in openness, low in neuroticism, and high in conscientiousness. These personality differences explain why the Yamnaya were obsessive explorers, adventurers, and conquerors, while the Chinese were afraid to explore the world.
The reason why “Nietzschean Vitalists” get this picture wrong is because they confuse neuroticism with conscientiousness, and correlate neuroticism with low testosterone. Neuroticism does not produce rule following in itself; it produces heightened negative affect, including anger, rage, bloodlust, fury, passion, ambition, obsession, and addiction. The tendency of northern Europeans toward alcoholism and drug addiction may be connected with their higher neuroticism.
In fact, when Nietzsche attacks Christianity as having “tamed Europe,” he could be referring to a reduction of neuroticism, not its increase. But more likely, Nietzsche’s attack on “taming” is best correlated with an increase in conscientiousness, which is linked to conservatism, not leftism. The most accurate application of Nietzsche’s ideas is to view medieval Christianity as a force for conservative conscientiousness, not for leftist neuroticism.
Personality Traits in Sub-Populations
To demonstrate how different sub-populations score across various traits, I will take a page out of Pokémon by charting IQ, conscientiousness, ethnocentrism, openness, neuroticism, and spatial intelligence in a hexagonal graph for various ethnic populations and politically defined subgroups.
I will add the reminder here that none of these traits are entirely genetically determined. All of these differences could be in part due to culture, religion, or other social constructs. Being a member of one of these groups does not determine individual characteristics.
Potential problems/oversimplifications in this graphic:
These are averages, scaled exponentially. I am not saying that “all psychopaths have an IQ of 0,” I’m saying that psychopaths as a group have below average intelligence. There are, of course, intelligent psychopaths as well.
One of the most problematic categories in this schema is “openness.” An autistic person might avoid new experiences, like drugs, alcohol, or meeting new people, but be open to strange or extreme political ideologies. Ideological openness and experiential (or visceral) openness might correlate, but can diverge significantly at an individual level.
Ethnocentrism could be further divided into “extroverted” and “introverted,” where extroverted ethnocentrism is a hatred of outgroups, while introverted ethnocentrism represents altruism for the ingroup. African Americans, for example, have very little introverted ethnocentrism (altruism toward blacks), but very high levels of extroverted ethnocentrism (hatred of whites).
I neglected to represent extraversion and agreeableness, which are important parts of socio-economic success. This was because I wanted to limit the graphic to six measures, but it could be improved by including seven or eight measures.
Ignoring IQ, the combination of five binary traits defined as “high” or “low” would produce 32 different types. Arranged as CNOES (Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, Openness, Ethnocentrism, Spatial Intelligence), these 8 groups would be coded as follows:
Jewish: 11110
White liberal: 01100
White conservative/Asian: 10011
Libertarian: 00101
Autist: 01011
Black+Hispanic: 00011
I invite commenters to help fill in potential political subgroups or ethnic identities that they feel fill in this chart of 32 possibilities. However, due to negative correlations between traits, it is unlikely that there will be many populations found with both high ethnocentrism and high openness. A simpler model might collapse openness and ethnocentrism into a single variable.
My main purpose here was to visualize the fact that white leftists and Jews share a unique personality “fingerprint.” Given the success of these two groups, leftist-neuroticism should be viewed as a potentially adaptive personality schema, rather than assumed to be a disease. Let us presume innocence in the court of psychology, and look at the evidence for group-level advantages.
Schizos vs Neurotics
Primitivists like Ted Kaczynski have used the term “over-civilized” to refer to the leftist-neurotic personality type. This implies two things:
That, from a primitivist perspective, whites and Jews are uniquely evil or diseased;
Or, from a progressive perspective, that leftist-neuroticism is uniquely helpful for building, sustaining, and expanding civilization.
I would go so far as to say that leftist-neuroticism is the foundation of civilization.
Psychologists such as Julian Jaynes have theorized that primitive peoples were all schizophrenic. This is partially based on his reading of Homeric poetry, but it could also be a result of a racial analysis of schizophrenia.
Schizophrenia and neuroticism are not mutually exclusive. In fact, the two traits are correlated. This is intuitive upon experiential contact with schizophrenics: they are paranoid, which makes them neurotic. But while most schizophrenics are neurotic, it is not the case that most neurotics are schizophrenic.
Schizophrenia, despite being a debilitating disease, is remarkably common. One theory behind the commonality of schizophrenia is that, like sickle cell anemia, it is a recessive expression of a useful trait.
When an individual possesses one normal copy of the hemoglobin gene (HbA) and one copy of the sickle cell gene (HbS), this protects against malaria. But when an individual possesses two copies of the sickle cell gene, this results in deleterious anemia. Insofar as the sickle cell gene protects against malaria, it persists in the population, despite resulting in anemia.
It is also possible that schizophrenia persists for similar reasons, although the cognitive genetics of schizophrenia are likely much more complicated than the genetics of sickle cell anemia. The structure of the brain is much more mysterious than the structure of a single blood cell.
Prolonged Neoteny
My theory is that there is a “schizophrenic spectrum,” and that low-grade schizophrenia is adaptive because it stimulates pattern-seeking behavior, which is beneficial for survival. This behavior can be observed in children, who look up at clouds and see the bodies of animals or the faces of humans.
Children learn languages much more easily, not because they are “smarter,” but because they more readily observe and passively absorb patterns. With regard to language acquisition, “paranoid vigilance” is an advantage, not a deficit. Having an imaginary friends is textbook schizophrenia. I had an imaginary friend as a child, but at some point, “grew out of it.”
The ancient Greeks wrote that they could hear poetry coming from the “Muses.” Actors “become” the characters they seek to emulate. It seems that there is strong link between artistic creativity and the ability to perceive extra-egoic personalities, also known as egregores.
Adult schizophrenia can be viewed as a form of “prolonged neoteny,” in the same way that babies are lactose-tolerant, but lose it over time. This model is flawed, however, by the fact that schizophrenia occurs in a sudden onset during adulthood — it is not a delayed adolescence.
However, in the case of leftist-neuroticism, the model of “prolonged neoteny” is a better fit. All children are natural leftists, as children are:
more narcissistic than adults;
more neurotic: experience intense emotion over small events and occurrences; cry more easily, are generally more emotional;
more open to new ideas than adults;
less sexually dimorphic and more androgynous;
lower in ethnocentrism, aggression, and testosterone;
have smaller amygdalas.2
Having said all this, would we say that children are “more mentally ill?” If you want to, be my guest. But it’s also clear that these traits in children are adaptive. Childish behavior is advantageous. If children didn’t have these traits, historically, they would be more likely to die.
Leftists, according to conservatives, are “special snowflakes” who need to “grow up.” They are correctly identifying the “prolonged neoteny” of leftism. Where conservatives fail in their analysis is that they cannot understand the benefits of neoteny.
Neoteny Reduces Conflict
Werner Zagrebbi writes:
wokeness’s prosociality comes from signaling your ‘niceness g-factor”
This analysis can be expanded to all of leftism, which is to say:
Leftism is an evolutionary strategy to reduce tribal conflict.
For individuals, leftism is deleterious. Leftism reduces testosterone, aggression, sexual dimorphism, and pain tolerance. This reduces the competitiveness of each individual. But that’s not a bug; it’s a feature. Whites and Jews have been selected, by civilizing processes, to become ultra-leftist. This means that, at a group level, whites and Jews are much more cooperative, which allows them to outcompete more ethnocentric “right-wing” groups, even when controlling for intelligence. Hence why the Chinese never conquered the world, despite developing civilization very early on.
Neuroticism and Warfare
Regarding the Yamnaya, the psychology of the Berserker mirrors that of the martyr. It is a passionate ecstasy which overcomes the conscientious conservative fear of death. Who would you rather have fighting alongside you: a deeply troubled dark soul who romanticizes suicide, or a rationalist bean-counter who would rather be enslaved than risk death?
As warfare has become more mechanistic and collectivistic over time, involving ditch-digging, shield walls, and other forms of regimented discipline, it’s possible that more conscientious rule-following armies have developed an advantage over neurotic Berserkers. The invention of drone war continues this trend. But the early Yamnaya accounts of warfare reflect a different situation.
The Rig Veda describes Rudra, Indra, and the Maruts as hyping themselves up on a substance called Soma. This substance seemed to inspire manic, frenzied bursts of energy, like cocaine.
Rig Veda 4.17.2: At your birth Heaven trembled and Earth flinched in fear of your turbulence and of the battle fury that is yours, Indra.
Rig Veda 4.17.10: When Indra makes his fury real, everything, both what is fixed and what moves becomes afraid before him.
Rig Veda 9.80.1: It purifies itself—the stream of Soma, who holds the gaze of men. With truth he summons the gods from heaven. With the roar of Indra he has flashed forth.
Part of the military strategy of the Yamnaya was inspiring terror, which is also documented in the warrior cultures of Africa and Japan, which utilize war paint and war masks to inspire fear. Loud sounds and roaring would disturb the defenders and cause them to flee. In this way, a smaller force could route and destroy a larger force. But key to this strategy was the recklessness of the Berserker, who fought nude or nearly nude, without armor.
Ancient tribal warfare was typically defined by the tactics of mutual retreat. Both sides would rush forward, maybe throw some rocks and spears, and then run away. These tactics can still be seen during instances of mob violence, where rioters will throw a beer bottle or brick at police, then retreat back into the safety of the crowd.
The Yamnaya technique was the opposite. Rather than rushing forward, feinting, throwing some rocks, and retreating, Yamnaya warriors would rush headlong into death and not stop moving forward until they were killed. This type of attack had a much higher risk of death for the individual, but it was advantageous for the group, because it struck fear into the defenders, who would not be used to these sort of suicide attacks.
The Yamnaya ethos of fighting relentlessly against overwhelming odds is recounted by Caesar in the story of Varenus and Pulfio:
In that legion there were two very brave men, centurions, who were now approaching the first ranks, T. Pulfio, and L. Varenus. These used to have continual disputes between them which of them should be preferred, and every year used to contend for promotion with the utmost animosity. When the fight was going on most vigorously before the fortifications, Pulfio… says, “Why do you hesitate, Varenus? or what [better] opportunity of signalizing your valor do you seek? This very day shall decide our disputes.” When he had uttered these words, he proceeds beyond the fortifications, and rushes on that part of the enemy which appeared the thickest. Nor does Varenus remain within the rampart, but respecting the high opinion of all, follows close after… the enemy crowd around him when [thus] embarrassed. His rival runs up to him and succors him in this emergency. Immediately the whole host turn from Pulfio to him [Varenus]… when surrounded, Pulfio brings relief; and both having slain a great number, retreat into the fortifications amid the highest applause. Fortune so dealt with both in this rivalry and conflict, that the one competitor was a succor and a safeguard to the other, nor could it be determined which of the two appeared worthy of being preferred to the other.
In the Mahabharata, the one who charges into a swarm of enemies, surrounded on all sides, is Abhimanyu, a 16 year old boy, the son of God’s closest friend:
Abhimanyu, at the command… pierced in battle that impenetrable circular array in many places. Having achieved the most difficult feats and slain heroes by thousands, he was (at last) encountered by six heroes together. In the end, …Subhadra’s son, O chastiser of foes, gave up his life.
Tolkien represents this archetypal scene several times, in the charge of the Rohirrim:
“Arise, arise, riders of Rohan!
Fell deeds awake, fire and slaughter!
Spear shall be shaken, shield be splintered!
A sword-day, a red day, ere the sun rises!
Ride now, ride now, ride to Gondor!”
This is drawn from the Edda description of Ragnarok as a suicidal war of the Gods:
“Brothers will fight and kill each other,
sisters’ children will defile kinship.
It is harsh in the world, whoredom rife
—an axe age, a sword age
—shields are riven—
a wind age, a wolf age—
before the world goes headlong.
No man will have mercy on another.”
The suicidal charge is led by Éomer after the apparent death of his sister:
“Death, death, death! Death take us all!
Death! Ride, ride to ruin and the world’s ending!”
Or take the scene from Mel Gibson’s Braveheart:
“Fight and you may die. Run, and you'll live... at least a while. And dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the days, from this day to that, for one chance — just one chance — to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they'll never take our freedom!”
Or the Charge of the Light Brigade:
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
“Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns!” he said.
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volleyed and thundered;
Stormed at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of hell
Rode the six hundred.When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wondered.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!
Or the reply of Leonidas at Thermopylae:
When Xerxes wrote again, “Hand over your arms,” he wrote in reply, “Come and take them.”
As fictionalized in the film:
No retreat, no surrender; that is Spartan law. And by Spartan law we will stand and fight... and die.
This all sounds like the ethos of a dark, depressed, and moody culture. Not the utilitarian hedonism of a cozy, wholesome-chungus conscientious culture.
Of course, without testosterone, neuroticism becomes a vector for masochistic self-doubt and criticism. Nietzsche says,
“Under peaceful conditions, the warlike man attacks himself.”
But doesn’t leftism cause racial suicide?
Ethnonationalists view leftism as evil because they believe it will cause whites and Jews to interbreed with non-white and non-Jewish groups, resulting in racial suicide. But this is not likely, because within whites and Jews, there are hyper-religious subgroups which practice endogamy. Whites and Jews are also more educated and wealthier, and education and wealth increases fertility within developed nations. This hasn’t always been the case (as recently as 2008), but the data is trending more strongly in that direction (since 2017).
This isn’t the case in developing countries, like Kenya. In Africa, education suppresses fertility. In Finland, education increases fertility.
Initially, increases in education lower fertility, because they introduce feminist norms. However, once feminist norms permeate all levels of society (including the least educated), then the relationship between education and fertility reverses. As you can see, the fertility for married whites exceeds all other groups:
We can also look at raw fertility rates, and see that all races are converging on the white rate:
It could be objected, at this point, that leftism disincentivizes marriage, and since fertility is strongly correlated with marital rate, leftism will be “bred out” of the population. But this is the wrong way to think about leftism. As Sasha Gusev notes,
Even if leftism were a disease, it is almost certainly not monogenic. The idea that conservatives will rid themselves of the “leftist gene” after a few generations is preposterous, even if the leftist birth rate dropped to 0.0.
But leftism is not a disease. It is a neotenous personality type with group level advantages. It correlates with Jewish and Northern European populations. “Deep leftism,” as a personality type (rather than a superficial and historically contingent assemblage of contemporary policy positions) is responsible for Judaism and Western Civilization. It may even have inspired the Yamnaya expansions.
How neurotic do you have to be to build an ark?
2017, Personality traits across countries: Support for similarities rather than differences. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0179646
Amygdala function is also associated with better ability to rotate shapes:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1878929313000558
The study of personality similarities/difference across study was done by a colleague of mine, using my data set. I'm not sure why he used such a small subset of the data; that is just the way he operates. I have a much larger data set now (over a million cases) that I should examine by country.
As always, an interesting read. While not everything checks out, it always prompts new ideas!