no political empathy gap

the standard stereotype of the "bleeding heart liberal" is unfounded according to a new study. in a classic experimental economics game participants could contribute any or all of $10 to a public pot. money in the pot would be increased by the researchers and then distributed evenly between all players regardless of the amount each contributed. individual players were best off if they kept their $10 and if everyone else contributed the full amount.
the results? liberals and conservatives were equally matched in their self-serving behavior and disregard for the common good. as the researchers conclude, something else must account for policy differences – but what is it? perhaps we all have the same basic self-serving instincts, but when it comes to ideas about what others should do we diverge.

Labels: ideology