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Jason Weeden

Robert Kurzban

The Hidden Agenda of the Political Mind: How Self-Interest Shapes Our Opinions and Why We Won't Admit It Hardcover – October 5, 2014

by Jason Weeden (Author), Robert Kurzban (Author)

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Why your political views are more self-serving than you think

When it comes to politics, we often perceive our own beliefs as fair and socially beneficial, while seeing opposing views as merely self-serving. But in fact most political views are governed by self-interest, even if we usually don't realize it. Challenging our fiercely held notions about what motivates us politically, this book explores how self-interest divides the public on a host of hot-button issues, from abortion and the legalization of marijuana to same-sex marriage, immigration, affirmative action, and income redistribution.

Expanding the notion of interests beyond simple economics, Jason Weeden and Robert Kurzban look at how people's interests clash when it comes to their sex lives, social status, family, and friends. Drawing on a wealth of data, they demonstrate how different groups form distinctive bundles of political positions that often stray far from what we typically think of as liberal or conservative. They show how we engage in unconscious rationalization to justify our political positions, portraying our own views as wise, benevolent, and principled while casting our opponents' views as thoughtless and greedy.

While many books on politics seek to provide partisans with new ways to feel good about their own side, The Hidden Agenda of the Political Mind illuminates the hidden drivers of our politics, even if it's a picture neither side will find flattering.

Print length

376 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Princeton University Press
Publication date

October 5, 2014
Dimensions

6.37 x 1.19 x 9.57 inches
ISBN-10

0691161119
ISBN-13

978-0691161112
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Robert Kurzban
111
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"[T]hought provoking."---John R. Hibbing, Science

"[T]his disturbing book may provoke debate, dismay and considerable anger." ― Kirkus

"[A]n unusually witty and engaging academic book."---Ethan Epstein, National Journal

"[I]nteresting throughout."---Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution

"The Hidden Agenda of the Political Mind is provocative and often persuasive. . . . Weeden and Kurzban remind us that self-interest is a complicated concept."---Glenn C. Altschuler, Huffington Post

"The book is a thoughtful reminder that politics is often simply a contest over finite resources in which different voters want opposing things."---John McDermott, Financial Times

"Authors Weeden and Kurzban have written a well-researched . . . analysis of the political mind. . . . [T]he book satisfies the intellectual demands of researchers and general readers. Perfect for fans of Thomas Frank's What's the Matter with Kansas?" ― Library Journal

"Weeden and Kurzban's book is well worth a read."---Anthony Randazzo, Reason

"Weeden and Kurzban's argument will trouble those who believe that politics is about more than trying to find ways to satisfy one's interests." ― Choice

"[O]ne of the most interesting books I have read on politics in quite a while. . . . A fascinating book."---Daniel Finkelstein, The Times

"The book makes an interesting contribution to our understanding of political attitudes and is accessible to a wide audience interested in political science. . . . The Hidden Agenda of the Political Mind answers an important question and provides new depth to many of the popular theories on opinion formation and partisan attachments. . . . By showing how self-interest factors into our decision making in ways we do not even consciously understand and how political parties exploit that to their advantage and by doing so in a way that is accessible outside an academic audience, the authors will likely make a significant contribution to the general understanding of public opinion."---Chad Murphy, The Journal of Politics

"An important contribution to a field dominated by group-oriented explanations."---Christopher Weber, Political Science Quarterly

Review

"Weeden and Kurzban are brilliant thinkers who provide a broader, deeper, and occasionally unsettling new perspective on how our self-interest influences our choices―even choices made by those of us who cherish the belief that we are not motivated by self-interest. Read it and weep, or laugh."―Douglas T. Kenrick, coauthor of The Rational Animal: How Evolution Made Us Smarter Than We Think

"The ideas that Weeden and Kurzban explore in this book are transformative. They will get people thinking and talking about human behavior, morality, and politics in entirely new ways. The Hidden Agenda of the Political Mind is an important book."―Joshua Tybur, VU University Amsterdam

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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Princeton University Press (October 5, 2014)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 376 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0691161119
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0691161112
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.44 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.37 x 1.19 x 9.57 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,263,448 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,420 in Cognitive Neuroscience & Neuropsychology
- #4,996 in Medical Social Psychology & Interactions
- #6,310 in Popular Social Psychology & Interactions

Customer Reviews:
15 ratings

About the authors

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Jason Weeden
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Jason Weeden is a senior researcher with the Pennsylvania Laboratory for Experimental Evolutionary Psychology and a lawyer in Washington, DC. He received his PhD in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania and conducted post-doctoral research in the Evolutionary Social Cognition Lab at Arizona State University. His peer-reviewed research publications have covered a wide range of topics, from attractiveness and sexual activity to religion and politics. He is the co-author with Robert Kurzban of The Hidden Agenda of the Political Mind (Princeton University Press, 2014).
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Robert Kurzban
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Robert Kurzban is a writer and author who received his PhD from the University of California, Santa Barbara and completed a Masters of Public Administration at the Fels Institute of Government. He now works as the Director of Development for the Garces Foundation and runs a small freelancing company, RE:Writers.
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Top reviews from the United States

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Michael

Evolutionary Biology Meets Political Preference Analysis

Reviewed in the United States on December 25, 2014

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No doubt, as Jonathan Haidt might say, this book appeals to my elephant. But it is a great empirical study of what should be obvious to anyone who understands evolutionary biology. We are all always driven by our (inclusive) self-interest. Weeden and Kurzban do a great job of parsing huge quantities of data to empirically illustrate this fact. One can only hope that a better understanding of the dynamics they expose will contribute to a downturn on the dial of sanctimonious moralizing which is so characteristic of contemporary discussions. Alas, for the very reasons explored in Kurzban's earlier book on the modular mind, that seems doubtful.

6 people found this helpful

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TB

A fascinating look behind the curtain of the political mind

Reviewed in the United States on October 24, 2014

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If you've ever wondered why people fight over politics, why the political parties attract different kinds of voters, why different issues matter to different people, then this is a great book. Weeden and Kurzban take the reader on an entertaining trip over complicated terrain.

When you first get the book, it looks like you're in for a long read at over 350 pages. But the good news is that about a third consists of appendixes with their data analyses. And the text of the book doesn't require you to flip back to those. Instead, the authors cover the main points in a surprisingly quick (and often funny) way that keeps things moving.

The first part of the book delves into the psychology of public opinion. They argue that people are generally self-interested and looking out for themselves, but the "PR Department" (great metaphor) of the mind is constantly spinning stories about how we're really just smart and principled and generous.

These early chapters also address work from political science that has argued that self-interest doesn't really matter in politics. They go through supposed counter-examples and show that many of them don't stand up to simple fact-checking. They explore how "social networks" don't lead us to blindly adopt political views, but how the spreading of harms and benefits within networks lead people to have a personal interest in what happens in the lives of their own friends. They address why many of the popular "explanations" in political science (various "symbolic" and "abstract" items) aren't really explanations at all. This sets the stage for the authors' focus on reality-based demographic information.

In the middle of the book, Weeden and Kurzban take the reader through the issues and show how they relate to everyday life. It's a wide-ranging discussion, from casual sex and abortion, to group-based issues like same-sex marriage and immigration, to the redistribution of wealth. At every step, they show how the public is divided along different demographic lines. A central theme is how people who are conservative on some sorts of issues are also often liberal on others. They manage to avoid taking sides in these hot-button debates (even if you sometimes want them to).

The last few chapters are particularly fun and illuminating. They introduce the reader to different slices of the public: Boehners, Johnsons, Church Ladies, Downscale Kansans, Steinems, Hillarys, Springers, and so on. They show why various groups typically favor one political party or the other, even though many have views that aren't consistently in line with that party. This helps make sense of the ongoing battles within the parties, as different demographic groups don't always agree on specific policies even though they might vote for the same candidates.

The last chapter brings it all together without a particularly happy ending. I understand why some might find it a bitter pill to swallow. No one likes being told that their views might be motivated by their own interests.

Whether you take offense or not, though, there's no doubt that the book gives a spirited and fascinating look at modern psychology and politics. Your faith may be shaken in the innocent stories we like to tell ourselves, but perhaps that's the price of real insight.

15 people found this helpful

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John Engelman

Unhiding the Agenda of the Political Mind

Reviewed in the United States on January 25, 2015

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In "The Hidden Agenda of the Political Mind: How Self-Interest Shapes Our Opinions And Why We Won't Admit It" Jason Weeden & Robert Kurzban argue that self interest, rather than political philosophy, determines party affiliation. However self interest consists of economic and social interests. Consequently, party affiliation is complex. Nevertheless, if one knows a person's economic and social interests one can predict that person's party affiliation with a certain amount of accuracy.

Economic issues largely concern who pays how much in taxes, and what the money is spent for. Economic conservatives favor lower taxes for the rich, and less domestic spending. Economic liberals favor the opposite. Economic conservatives will explain their opinions by saying in so many words, "I am in favor of freedom, and Constitutional government. Democrats want to punish our most productive citizens."

Economic liberals will say in effect, "I think everyone is entitled to a decent standard of living. The Republicans only care about the rich."

Social issues largely concern sexual behavior and factors that restrict it, although attitudes about guns, criminals, race, and immigrants are also important. Social conservatives will explain their opinions this way, "I am in favor of Judeo Christian morality. Secular humanists favor the sexual license that has always resulted in the fall of civilizations."

Social liberals will counter with an argument that sounds like this, "I am in favor of tolerance. The religious right is intolerant, and probably racist and sexist besides."

Immigration is a social and an economic issue. Many Americans do not like cultural diversity. Others like it. Most Americans are jeopardized by the downward pressure a high rate of immigration exerts on wages. Hispanics and Asians, most of whom are immigrants or recent descendants of immigrants, want fewer restrictions on immigration. Blacks understandably tend to favor policies that benefit blacks as a race. Many whites oppose those policies, even when they share economic interests with blacks.

Libraries can be filled with books that argue for one or another of these attitudes. Jason Weeden and Robert Kurzban assert that people do not have the opinions they have because they have read books with good arguments. Instead, they read books that reinforce opinions they already have. These opinions in turn are based on how they perceive their economic and social interests.

The United States government is a democracy. We are equal under the law. Nevertheless, wealth, education, and power correlate. Those with the most of each tend to be more libertarian than the population as a whole. That is to say, they tend to be more conservative on economic issues, and more liberal on social issues. These are the people who lead the two major political parties. Consequently, when the Republican and Democratic parties compromise, the compromise ends up to the right of the American consensus on economic issues, and to the left on social issues.

This is particularly true of the Supreme Court and of courts in general. The Supreme Court has legalized abortion, outlawed prayer in public schools, and legalized nearly unlimited campaign funding by rich people. These rich people of course expect results from the politicians they contribute to, results that benefit them in particular and rich people in general.

In "What is the Matter with Kansas?" Thomas Frank expressed incredulity and displeasure at the fact that low income whites in Kansas (and the rest of the country) usually vote against their economic interests by voting Republican.
http://www.amazon.com/Whats-Matter-Kansas-Conservatives-America/dp/080507774X/ref=cm_rdp_product

Well, it turns out that low income whites usually have liberal opinions about Social Security, Medicare, and unemployment compensation. They also have conservative opinions on issues like gay marriage, abortion, prayer in the schools, gun control, affirmative action, and immigration.

Lower income whites usually vote Republican because for them social issues are more important than economic issues. Nevertheless, their liberal economic views often come as a shock to the Republican politicians they vote for when those Republican politicians get serious about cutting specific items in the domestic budget.

The vast majority of blacks vote Democratic. Their opposition to gay rights issues often displeases the Democratic politicians they elect.

President Reagan did little to advance the agenda of the Religious Right that had enabled him to be elected in 1980. (The only thing I can think of is that he helped to stop the Equal Rights Amendment from passing.) President Reagan did cut the top tax rate from 70 percent to 28 percent. Under the Obama administration corporations got bailouts. Ordinary citizens did not.

The prime movers of political affiliation are income, education, race, and sexual behavior. Generally speaking income correlates with economic conservatism. Education correlates with social liberalism. People favor policies that benefit others of their race. Number of sex partners varies inversely with church attendance.

There is a strong correlation between income and education. Nevertheless, when income is held constant, those with more education lean to the left. When education is held constant, those with more income lean to the right.

At the extremes, someone with nothing to show for a PhD. or a law degree but unpaid student loan debts and a low wage job is likely to vote Democratic or perhaps Green. High school dropouts who become prosperous business owners tend to vote Republican or perhaps Libertarian.

Whites tend to vote Republican, even when they are poor. Non whites and Jews tend to vote Democratic, even when they are rich. The tendency of Jews and Asians to vote Democratic even when they are rich irritates Republicans. It can probably be explained by the fact that Asian societies value social harmony, and that American society values individualism and competition. Jews are less averse to competition, but they usually have a collective memory of the shtetl, the ghetto, and the lower east side of Manhattan.

Moreover, the tragic history of the Jews has taught them that they are safest in multi ethnic societies, where no ethnicity is clearly dominant. For obvious reasons they feel differently about Israel. The Jewish tendency to support loser immigration laws in the United States, but stricter immigration laws in Israel angers white nationalists.

The authors get their data about how Americans with different characteristics behave and think from the U.S. General Social Survey (GSS). Most of what they find is what you would expect: rich people are less likely to favor higher taxes on the rich that are poor people; promiscuous people are more likely to favor legal abortion than are monogamous people; gun owners are less likely to favor more gun control laws than are people who do not own guns, etc.

One area where people differ is in human capital. People with high human capital score well on mental aptitude tests and are well educated. People with low human capital test poorly and are poorly educated. People with high human capital welcome competition with people of other races and religions. People with low human capital desire a form of group based preference.

Blacks and Hispanics with low human capital desire affirmative action policies. White Gentiles with low human capital want Jews and non whites to be discriminated against in hiring and university admissions.

Low human capital explains the antisemitism that infects some websites on the internet. White Gentiles with low human capital sneer at the poverty of poor blacks and Hispanics at the same time that they resent the prosperity of Jews and Orientals.

The most interesting finding of this book is that sexual behavior has more of an influence on religious attendance than does religious attendance have on sexual behavior. The authors discuss sexual behavior with a continuum that ranges from those they call "Freewheelers" at one extreme, to "Ring Bearers" on the other. Freewheelers enjoy sexual variety and casual sex, and have little interest in marriage. Ring Bearers have little (or no) interest in sexual variety and casual sex, and much interest in marriage.

It is true that Ring Bearers are more likely to have been raised in church going families. Freewheelers are more likely to have been raised in secular families. Nevertheless, Ring Bearers raised in secular families have a stronger tendency to go to church than do all adults who were raised in church going families.

Ring Bearers benefit from a society with more Ring Bearers, and consequently from a society that discourages Freewheeling. Outlawing abortion increases the costs of Freewheeling. Although anti abortion people claim to be pro life they are more likely to favor capital punishment, and a foreign policy that increases the possibility of war. They are also less likely to support Temporary Assistance to Needy Families. Although pro abortion people claim to be pro choice, they also tend to favor more government restrictions in other areas, such as gun control laws, and seat belt laws.

If religious upbringing, or its lack, is not the main cause of adopting the Freewheeling or Ring Bearing lifestyle, what is? The authors suggest that genes are important.

The sexual revolution has benefited Freewheelers at the expense of Ring Bearers. The sexual revolution has meant that there are fewer virgins and fewer marriage prospects that are willing to wait for marriage. It also means that it is easier to find a sex partner who does not expect a long term relationship. I have not found these polls on the internet. Nevertheless I have read that a Gallup poll taken as late as 1969 indicated that most Americans by a significant margin still thought sex outside of marriage was morally wrong. By 1974 that had changed. Five years are insufficient to lead to significant genetic changes. What also happened during this time was the fact that the War in Vietnam became unpopular with the general public, and the Watergate scandal. Attitudes toward the War in Vietnam and Watergate influenced respect for traditional ways of thinking and feeling about things in general.

What I suspect is that between 1969 and 1974 political events influenced changes in sexual mores and behavior. For genetic reasons some people were more susceptible to these political events than others. Even politically conservative Vietnam era military personnel and military veterans spent formative years in an environment that does not encourage chastity.

Freewheelers and Ring Bearers differ in other respects. Freewheelers are more likely to patronize bars. They are more likely to smoke marijuana. They are more likely to favor legal abortion. They are more likely to favor no restrictions on pornography. They are more likely to get divorced if they marry. Finally (and you were waiting for this) they are more likely to vote Democratic.

When comparing the behavior of people who differ on one characteristic, we should be careful to compare those who are similar on other characteristics. For example, born again Christians are more likely to get divorced than are secular people. However, born again Christians are much more likely to get married than are secular people. When we compare the divorce rates of born again Christians who have been married, with the divorce rates of secular people who have been married, the secular people have a higher divorce rate.

It is also true that non born again Christians who have been married have a lower rate of divorce than born again Christians who have been married. This is because born again Christians tend to have less education. Less education correlates with higher divorce rates. If education is held constant it is reasonable to assume that once married born again Christians will have a lower divorce rate than once married non born again Christians, although the authors do not demonstrate this.

The authors do not discuss sexual possessiveness. Nevertheless, observation, listening, reading, and introspection convince me that Freewheelers do not usually care about the previous sexual experience of their sex partners (although some male Freewheelers enjoy seducing virgins). Ring Bearers on the other hand strongly prefer, if they do not demand, their marriage partners to have had little or no previous experience.

This explains much of the difference between church and bar attendance among Ring Bearers and Freewheelers. Virgins are more likely to be sitting in the same pew than on a nearby bar stool.

According to the U.S. General Social Survey (GSS) when the bride and groom are both virgins they have only a fifteen percent chance of ever getting divorced. The national average is about fifty percent. It has risen with national changes in sexual behavior. Ring Bearers tend to have more children than Freewheelers.

I believe from other sources than this book that children raised to adulthood by both parents living together in matrimony tend to do much better in life than children raised in other circumstances. I also believe that human population growth has heavy environmental and economic costs.

This is where the sexual revolution presents us with a dilemma. It has reduced the birth rate.Population growth is a problem. It has also increased the number of children raised in circumstances that place them at risk. The authors do not make that sort of editorial comment. This is wise. They are not interested in advocating behavior. They are interested in explaining it.

In political arguments facts and logical reasoning are seldom effective. Think of the economic and social interests of the people you are arguing with. Think of this also when composing political messages designed to convert others.

13 people found this helpful

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Merrell T. Denison

Hiding in Plain Sight

Reviewed in the United States on November 24, 2014

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The authors choose 7 characteristics to predict political proclivities; “So, while income predicts people’s economic views to a degree, race, age , gender, religion, sexual orientation, and human capital are also important for understanding and predicting preferences for …” (wealth redistribution). I purchased the book hoping to find quantified the single characteristic common sense would dictate has the highest correlation, not income, but the actual beneficiaries of transferred funds. Alas, it was not considered by the authors, and in my opinion, the book fails because of this. For instance, do blacks receiving welfare favor government wealth transfers by a larger percentage than blacks generally? Are college professors who receive government research grants more favorably disposed to larger government than those who don’t? (In fiscal year 2008, 60 percent of research funding at academic institutions came from the government.) How many liberals are liberal? How many are just parasitic? How many, especially in the academic world, are actually Marxists, resenting the incomes of businessmen?

3 people found this helpful

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Charles Wellington

The title misled me into thinking this would be a ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 11, 2015

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The title misled me into thinking this would be a book readable by non sociologists. It was too technical but that is not a criticism. It was out of my understanding.

2 people found this helpful

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