Interests or Ideas?

In my blog last week, I asked a hypothetical question about the rationale behind the political divide in our country: Have we become so politically biased that we make up our mind first and justify our position later, rather than, think through an issue and arrive at a decision after? Well, with this week’s topic, I may just have found an answer! - Yes!

I find this week’s topic absolutely fascinating. Mostly, the discovery of concepts of homo sociologicus and homo economicus has put many issues in perspective for me (though I do find the fake Latin terms off-putting, not to mention their parent name “models of man”).

Yes, there are those of us who have no political agenda, wishing the country was not as divided as it has become. Being force-fed daily (as well as nightly) news colored with opinions (Hobbes’ importance of language comes to mind) we serve as audience to those who have interests.

The context may have changed, but Abraham Lincoln’s wise words have not lost their relevance to this day: "A house divided against itself cannot stand."

The political divide has gone so far, your love for the country may be determined by what your news source is. TV channels are decidedly politically biased, inviting speakers with similar political affiliation to add fuel to the fire. With no shortage of opinions on social media on topics that many contributors unfortunately have no clue about, they criticize organizations they know nothing about. Law enforcement organizations and intelligence agencies in this country have not historically sought public recognition as they have been dutifully doing their job. Free speech is not free, and we have many quiet heroes who have sacrificed their lives for those who take to social media to criticize them. It has, therefore, turned our culture into a “calculating engine” of homo economicus (Prof. Jackson), where the contributors perceive things in their environment, consult their “preference schedule” and express their views by having rationally put them together.

I would argue that the homo economicus bubble is about to burst. The time has come for what we truly need in our evolving political environment: the rise of homo sociologicus. This counterpoint to homo economicus, who, instead of asking what the best way to achieve his or her goal, seeks doing the right thing. Applying this concept to current political atmosphere, Senator John McCain comes to mind. Always reaching across the aisle, and understanding the importance of unity in the country where respect to each other’s point of view is the key to success.

Authors Judith Goldstein and Robert Keohane have aptly outlined the framework for three types of beliefs: world views, principled beliefs and causal beliefs. As we may have been exposed to political beliefs or affiliations from our parents, culture, the environment we grew up in (worldviews), and apply them to the framework of wrong and right (principled beliefs), we can strategize the attainment of our goals (causal beliefs). While the first two are more ingrained in us and therefore harder to change, changes in the conceptualization of cause-effect relationships can happen more frequently and quickly.