Ever noticed that that people working in extractive industries tend to be right-wing?

[YoungDemCA]

Basically oil, gas, mining, logging, agribusiness, ranching, etc..

Is a lot of these industries' support for right-wingers related to environmentalism and land-use regulations, or is rooted in something deeper?

[yesphan]

1. They think...

RWers = less regulation = enhanced capability to extract = more $$$$$ . It's all about getting richer.

[Skidmore]

10. It's about resisting change and losing

wealth, power, and access to other indutries which would take their place. A savvy industry leader would be seeking a way to get on board and adapt rather than doubling and tripling down.

[SharonAnn]

13. I think it's the "rape and pillage" mentality. They're real "takers".

[phleshdef]

2. That depends. Keep in mind a good number of those workers are union as well.

But yea, definitely in the case of West Virginia, where I grew up, they are very anti-EPA because coal companies have everyone by the balls down there.

[YoungDemCA]

3. A lot of unionized workers, true

But that doesn't necessarily mean support for Democrats these days....

I was more thinking of the owners and managers of these industries.

[phleshdef]

8. Yea, owners and managers for sure...

A lot of the owners and managers also hate unions.

[uppityperson]

4. Could be education also. The higher education, more white collar jobs are more leftwing?

[YoungDemCA]

6. Higher education is correlated with liberalism

But higher economic status (income, wealth) is correlated with conservatism.

[TheDeputy]

5. Obvious. Money.

You never hear about Republicans wanting to shut down mines or oilfields, logging sites, etc.

Environmentalists threaten the jobs of people engaged in that kind of work.

People vote with their wallets.

[Duer 157099]

7. Extractive=dominion over the Earth=fundies=right wing n/t

[Arkansas Granny]

12. Yep. They think gawd left it in the ground for them to use so they are entitled to it.

[EC]

9. Also the military complex

weapons and mercenaries and prisons.

[JI7]

11. do they tend to lean right on social issues also ?

but i'm sure most of it has to do with opposition to regulation. they know they are creating a mess and hurting others while making huge profits for themselves and they don't want to be held accountable in any way.

[Cleita]

14. The ownership, management and professionals, like engineers and such are.

The rank and file workers mostly aren't. They belong to unions if they can and when I lived in an American owned copper mine in South America, the laborers were both union and politically very left. One of my summer vacations there I had a job in the Industrial Relations Department as a translator. (Boss didn't speak Spanish). I was told to beware of all the scary union guys because they were *gasp* COMMUNISTS!

[Bay Boy]

15. Dentists too...

... I know I hate them.

[jmowreader]

16. Left-wingers work to make the extractive industries superfluous

Say you mine coal. Right-wingers tend to be, by and large, in favor of using coal and oil to generate power. (Try running trains full of the shit through their neighborhoods, tho, and you get a different opinion...) Left-wingers like things such as solar, wind, geothermal, wave energy and other things that obviate the need for extractive energy. So...if you were a coal mining executive, and you had the choice of supporting the philosophy that likes what you do or the philosophy that seeks to put you in a different line of work, you'd follow your wallet.