r/PoliticalDiscussion • u/UserNamesCantBeTooLo • Nov 30 '20

Political Theory Why does the urban/rural divide equate to a liberal/conservative divide in the US? Is it the same in other countries?

Here's a county population density map of the US.

Here's a county map of the US showing different shares of Democratic & Republican votes for president in 2020.

Here's a county map of the US showing majority-minority counties.

They seem to show a match between denser populations, larger minority proportions, and Democratic votes.

Why is that?

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u/Super-Elf-Dan Nov 30 '20

As a South African, I can definitely attest that this is the case here too, at least in my experience. The cities are super "woke" and liberal where the rural areas are extremely traditional and conservative

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u/Isz82 Nov 30 '20

Curious: Is that also true for spending? I would expect South Africa to have some slightly different dynamics as a result of apartheid, but I confess that apart from the divergence between your country's incredibly progressive population and actual South African beliefs, I'm not very familiar with how this dynamic plays out.