Why do Supreme Court Justices move left, especially on social issues?

A long, dull article in the Boston Review by a couple of liberal academics suggests that it's because being on the Supreme Court makes you more sensitive to the complexities of the world, more in touch with the little guy, yada yada. But, clearly, elevation to the Supreme Court makes people less in touch with the real world.

Most strikingly, there's the bizarre system of having each Supreme Court Justice assisted only by four 25-year-old clerks, who are selected straight out of exclusive law schools for one year terms. Thus, the rapidly aging Justices, who now typically serve until about age 78, are exposed to a long succession of very articulate and arrogant young people who lack almost all real world experience. It's the Senile assisted by the Puerile.

Most notably, what's lacking around the Supreme Court are parents with children living at home. Most Justices are empty-nesters and almost no clerks these days have children. If you believe that our society should pay most attention to the welfare of the married-with-children demographic, because they have the most influence on future generations, their lack of representation around the offices of the Supreme Court Justices explains a lot.

My published articles are archived at iSteve.com -- Steve Sailer