Description

Red Genes, Blue Genes
Exposing Political Irrationality
Guillermo C. Jiménez
Modern science postulates that our political predispositions can be traced to our genes. To some extent, there is such a thing as “red-state” or “blue-state” DNA.

Our brains likewise bear the evolutionary imprint of hundreds of thousands of years of political wiring — for biased partisanship. The result is a political landscape characterized by irrationality and hostility.

Americans today, like citizens of many other countries, find themselves trapped in hostile “red” vs. “blue” political warfare. While liberals and
conservatives fight each other for power and influence, the world’s problems go unsolved.

Using recent scientific evidence from neuroscience, behavioral genetics, and evolutionary and cognitive psychology, Red Genes, Blue Genes is the first book to take a comprehensive look at the phenomenon of political irrationality.

This book seeks to unravel a number of political mysteries:

➤ Why does it seem that liberals and conservatives are different kinds of people?
➤ Why are political arguments so hostile and impervious to reason?
➤ Why are partisans and political figures so certain they are right all the time?
➤ Why are citizens everywhere unsatisfied with “democratic” systems of government?
➤ Why are political campaigns so shallow, vicious and manipulative?

This book provides answers to the above questions, showing how understanding political irrationality may enable us to devise new systems of government that are truly democratic.
“American politics is irrational, but Guillermo Jiménez explains why this is the case so rationally and sensibly that this country would be in a far better place if everyone read this very well-written book — and better yet, examined and reconsidered their voting patterns because of it.” — Gene Stone, author of The Bush Survival Bible

“Guillermo Jiménez brings an element to political analysis that is both rare and welcome: self-reflection. His theory of political irrationality is not likely to please hyper-partisans of either the left or the right. For that very reason, it strikes me as indispensable.” — Mark Goldblatt, political columnist, author of Africa Speaks

Guillermo C. Jiménez is an assistant professor of international trade at the State University of New York (SUNY). A graduate of Harvard University and the University of California–Berkeley, he has lectured in over 35 countries and addressed various international organizations and bodies such as the United Nations and the European Commission. Red Genes, Blue Genes: Exposing Political Irrationality is his fourth book. He blogs at www.redgenesbluegenes.com.