Political Orientation and Field of Specialization Among College Professors

Abstract

Analysis of questionnaires completed by samples of nine academic disciplines reveals large differences among the average political orientations of the members of the disciplines. These differences cannot be explained in terms of a series of measured background factors and environmental conditions. But the order of the different disciplines in their degree of Democratic affiliation and liberalism (as opposed to Republican affiliation and conservatism) is consistent with the idea that an important element in explaining the differences is the degree to which the perspectives of the members of each profession tend to be oriented toward social criticism or the application of knowledge in the business world.