Beingism, a Philosophy of Life

Why Are People Economically Conservative?

Why do people support economic systems that often produce inequality, insecurity, and preventable suffering? There is no single answer. Beingism suggests that a number of psychological, social, and ideological factors often work together to make economically conservative beliefs appealing.

Overview

As with nearly any complex question, there are many often interrelated facets to this. What follows are some of what Beingism hypothesizes are among the most common reasons people become or remain economically conservative. These are not necessarily mutually exclusive, and more than one may be at work in the same individual or social environment.

Common Reasons People Are Economically Conservative

1. Many people want to believe the world is fundamentally fair.
   Even when presented with contrary evidence, people often find it emotionally easier to believe that people generally get what they deserve. This tendency is commonly called the Just World Effect.
2. People often over-attribute outcomes to personal character rather than circumstance.
   There is a strong tendency to assume that other people’s behavior and conditions are mainly caused by their personal traits, rather than by situation, environment, or systemic pressures. This is often called the fundamental attribution error.
3. Economically conservative beliefs can reduce cognitive dissonance.
   If you benefit from existing inequalities, it can be psychologically convenient to believe that those inequalities are just, natural, or morally acceptable. This makes it easier to avoid discomfort about one’s own privilege or excess.
4. Such beliefs can flatter the self.
   If wealth and privilege are interpreted as rewards from God, karma, merit, or “the nature of reality,” then having them can seem to prove that you are better, more deserving, or more admirable than others.
5. Some people are resistant to conventional moral language.
   Most people hear messages throughout life about caring for others and behaving ethically. For various reasons, including the message being delivered in ineffective ways (preachy, moralistic), constant exposure to them can make some people impatient, cynical, or rebellious toward explicitly compassionate moral claims.
6. It can feel good to identify with success and power.
   Even if someone is not especially prosperous or influential, it can be emotionally satisfying to identify with those who are. People sometimes adopt beliefs associated with wealth or dominance because doing so feels aspirational or empowering.
7. Simple explanations are appealing.
   It is often tempting to believe that social and economic problems can be reduced to one villain and one easy solution. For economically conservative worldviews, that villain is often government, and the solution is often deregulation.
8. People resist changing their beliefs.
   Once people are committed to a worldview, it often takes considerable courage and intellectual flexibility to re-evaluate it honestly in light of new evidence. This resistance to change is one of the most common barriers to revising one’s beliefs.
9. People make honest errors of judgment.
   Some people support economically conservative ideas because they sincerely believe those ideas are correct, practical, or fair. Not all disagreement is insincere or self-serving.
10. People often lack exposure to relevant facts.
    Many people are not exposed to clear information about the real effects economically conservative philosophies have had on the world. It is often not in the interests of powerful institutions for the public to understand the scale of poverty, inequality, and structural injustice.

In Brief

Beingism’s answer is not that people are economically conservative for just one reason. Rather, economically conservative beliefs are often sustained by a combination of limited information, psychological bias, emotional investment, social identification, and the appeal of simple explanations. Understanding these causes can make it easier to respond with clarity rather than stigma, and to think more seriously about the kinds of social systems that would better promote fulfillment for all.

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