A lot
of people think about political ideology as a powerful causal force that
influences the structure of our society and our respective positions within it.
In the politics and inequality symposium Jazmin Brown-Iannuzzi of the
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and her colleagues examined political
ideology from a different perspective: Instead of shaping the structure of
society, does political ideology arise from our position within that structure?
That is, do we create our political beliefs strategically in order to justify
our own lives and the lives of those around us?
Across
several studies, Brown-Iannuzzi presented research investigating this link
between social status and ideology: In the studies, social status is measured
in terms of subjective perceptions of position in the socioeconomic hierarchy
or manipulated in an economic game in which an individual receives more or less
of a monetary reward than other game players. Whatever the method, higher
standing was related to more conservative ideology and greater aversion to
redistribution—ideological beliefs that support the status quo. In contrast,
those at the bottom of the measured/manipulated status hierarchy tended to
support redistribution and report being more politically liberal—a set of
beliefs that support social change and hierarchy ascendance for those at the
bottom.
Together,
the findings suggest that people choose their political beliefs potentially to
justify their own lives and positions. This is an exciting area of future
research, and you can read more about the findings here!
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