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The dual evolutionary foundations of political ideology

Author

Listed:
  • Scott Claessens

    (University of Auckland)

  • Kyle Fischer

    (University of Auckland)

  • Ananish Chaudhuri

    (University of Auckland
    CESifo)

  • Chris G. Sibley

    (University of Auckland)

  • Quentin D. Atkinson

    (University of Auckland
    Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History)

Abstract

Research over the last fifty years has suggested that political attitudes and values around the globe are shaped by two ideological dimensions, often referred to as economic and social conservatism. However, it remains unclear why this ideological structure exists. Here we highlight the striking concordance between these dual dimensions of ideology and independent convergent evidence for two key shifts in the evolution of human group living. First, humans began to cooperate more and across wider interdependent networks. Second, humans became more group-minded, conforming to social norms in culturally marked groups and punishing norm-violators. We propose that fitness trade-offs and behavioural plasticity have maintained functional variation in willingness to cooperate and conform within modern human groups, naturally giving rise to the two dimensions of political ideology. Supported by evidence from across the behavioural sciences, this evolutionary framework provides insight into the biological and cultural basis of political ideology.

Suggested Citation

  • Scott Claessens & Kyle Fischer & Ananish Chaudhuri & Chris G. Sibley & Quentin D. Atkinson, 2020. "The dual evolutionary foundations of political ideology," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 4(4), pages 336-345, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nathum:v:4:y:2020:i:4:d:10.1038_s41562-020-0850-9
    DOI: 10.1038/s41562-020-0850-9
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    Cited by:

    1. Daniel Nettle & Elliott Johnson & Matthew Johnson & Rebecca Saxe, 2021. "Why has the COVID-19 pandemic increased support for Universal Basic Income?," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 8(1), pages 1-12, December.
    2. Theodore Samore & Daniel M T Fessler & Adam Maxwell Sparks & Colin Holbrook, 2021. "Of pathogens and party lines: Social conservatism positively associates with COVID-19 precautions among U.S. Democrats but not Republicans," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(6), pages 1-26, June.
    3. Agnieszka Turska-Kawa & Irena Pilch, 2022. "Political beliefs and the acceptance of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic restrictions. The case of Poland," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(3), pages 1-25, March.

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