Why is right wing populism less popular among university-educated men?

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2023-10-03 03:00

Australia; SA

What does this mean?

Jump to: MultimediaAttachmentsExpert Reaction

White university-educated men are less likely to hold right-wing populist opinions than white men with no university education in Australia and when they do, their views are less extreme, according to a small study. Australian researchers interviewed 10 university-educated and eight non-university-educated white men about their political views to try and get some early understanding of how university education shapes political views. The researchers say university-educated men were more positive about diversity if they had contact with non-white people, but this did not appear to be the case as much for non-university-educated men. The researchers also say the university participants believed their institution promoted a pluralistic outlook (the idea that different types of people and opinions within a society are good), something they say is often incompatible with right-wing populist views.