Rational v. Irrational Man (and Woman)
The study of how people behave in the marketplace is based on rationality. We choose to own things that tend to add value to our lives while avoiding those that do not. Or we buy things that bring us pleasure while avoiding things that bring us pain. We choose happy over sad. We choose comfort over unease. Or utility over disutility. Other things being equal, we choose cheaper over costlier. We choose sexy over bland. Those are all rational choices that make us better off—real or imagined—with a given product or service than without it. And we do a pretty good job when left alone. But sellers try to make us believe that we want some things that we really don’t need through advertising that is misleading. They put products and services in the hands of very attractive models, or successful sports figures. A lot of demand is created this way by repetition—on TV, in newspapers, flyers, videos, etc. It works. Glamour sells. We still do a pretty good job because there are hundreds of products and services that don’t sell regardless of how hard the Madison Avenue boys and girls try.
But when it comes to voting, we become the most gullible animals in the entire kingdom. A dufus dressed in a suit, or with a smile, or looking serious can often win over someone who is much better qualified. Toss in an accent that appeals, or a 10 gallon hat, or with a choir singing in the background, and a lot of us fall for that gimmickry. An evangelist running for office in the Bible belt typically can easily defeat all others. A Boston accent is big in Boston, but not so good elsewhere. And an evil, smooth talking candidate can charm his or her way past even discerning voters. Toss in a lot of false advertising against the opponent, and the final list of winners is typically a lineup from hell. Welcome to America. Our Congress is the best that money can buy, but it is also the worst group of misfits that we need, and the solution to changing a democratic republic into the land of, by, and for the ultra rich.
Yes, about one-half of all voters vote against their own interests—again and again and again. Even when those who get elected also get caught with their pants down (literally), or with their hands in someone else’s pockets (literally), or who consistently vote to take from you and give to their rich benefactors, they keep on winning. How irrational is that? How dumb is that? And why is that so?
Interpersonal choices are different from economic choices. A smile on a handsome face covers up a lot of evil. A good ol’ boy with a down home drawl can defeat an honest, competent person most of the time. We like those who are like us. We want to believe they can win in an international conflict even when they have never been outside of Swampville, Georgia; or we believe they can compete in a game of derivative swaps when they haven’t a clue about what a derivative is.
There is a long list of traits that identify the gullible from others, the persuasible from the hard-nosed. And sometimes even very discerning people can get sucked in by a snake charmer. We don’t have to look any further than Germany in the 1920s and 30s to find a slick talking evil bastard who charmed his way to the top and heaped hell on the rest of the world before he could be caught and stopped. 50 to 70 million people had to die before the end came.
So who are the persuasible types? They are not very confident in themselves. They have a low sense of humor. They are future-oriented. They rely on authorities for their insights. They have low self-esteem. They are conformists. They are not achievers. They like things to be crystal clear and have a low tolerance for ambiguous situations. That is just a summary that is supported by at least 1,000 scientific studies.
And the antidote? Everyone can emerge from this cocoon of anxiety when they learn how to think for themselves; when they stop relying on others to think for them. And that includes their parents, their preachers, even their teachers. Learn how to think critically, to recognize facts from fiction; rely on careful analysis of those facts; assimilate your new-found views into what you already know; be a skeptic; don’t believe a line of bull just because it came from someone with a smile. Repeat these activities until you get so damned good at it people tend to back away from you. Be a force to be reckoned with. Be honest with yourself. Think about others. Do the right thing. You don’t have to be a scholar. Read about Socrates. He was probably the wisest man of all time. That’s enough.
Love ya!
Jane
Ron