“…Accordingly, and fitting research linking political ideology with moral norms 14 , 32 , we expected this effect of (in)equality in returns to be stronger among self-identified left-leaning individuals than among right-leaning individuals (Hypothesis 1b). We note that evidence for these hypotheses would resonate with the general observation that political ideology sometimes does impact cooperation 17 , 19 , 33 and sometimes does not 26 , 27 , 29 , and fit previous work revealing that holding a rightist (vs. leftist) ideology attenuates negative responses to inequality 6 , 34 , 35 . Figure 1 Unequal returns in a multiple-public goods game.…”
Individuals often face dilemmas in which non-cooperation serves their self-interest and cooperation favors society at large. Cooperation is often considered the moral choice because it creates equality and fairness among citizens. Accordingly, individuals whose political ideology attaches greater value to equality than to agency and self-reliance should not only cooperate on more rather than less efficient public goods, but also more on public goods from which individuals benefit equally rather than unequally. We examine this possibility by comparing ideologically left-leaning and right-leaning individuals’ cooperation on multiple public goods that varied in efficiency and (in)equality in returns. We find that left-leaning individuals cooperate more than right-leaning ones, but only on public goods that benefit everyone equally, and not more on public goods that generate inequalities. Left-leaning individuals also trust and expect others to cooperate more on equal- versus unequal-returns public goods, while self-identified right-leaning individuals do not differentiate between these. Interestingly, ideology does not predict which public good is deemed more morally appropriate to cooperate on. Results combined specify when and why self-identified leftists can(not) be expected to cooperate more than rightists and reveal how moral decision-making depends on structural elements of the public good provision problems that citizens face.
“…Accordingly, and fitting research linking political ideology with moral norms 14 , 32 , we expected this effect of (in)equality in returns to be stronger among self-identified left-leaning individuals than among right-leaning individuals (Hypothesis 1b). We note that evidence for these hypotheses would resonate with the general observation that political ideology sometimes does impact cooperation 17 , 19 , 33 and sometimes does not 26 , 27 , 29 , and fit previous work revealing that holding a rightist (vs. leftist) ideology attenuates negative responses to inequality 6 , 34 , 35 . Figure 1 Unequal returns in a multiple-public goods game.…”
Individuals often face dilemmas in which non-cooperation serves their self-interest and cooperation favors society at large. Cooperation is often considered the moral choice because it creates equality and fairness among citizens. Accordingly, individuals whose political ideology attaches greater value to equality than to agency and self-reliance should not only cooperate on more rather than less efficient public goods, but also more on public goods from which individuals benefit equally rather than unequally. We examine this possibility by comparing ideologically left-leaning and right-leaning individuals’ cooperation on multiple public goods that varied in efficiency and (in)equality in returns. We find that left-leaning individuals cooperate more than right-leaning ones, but only on public goods that benefit everyone equally, and not more on public goods that generate inequalities. Left-leaning individuals also trust and expect others to cooperate more on equal- versus unequal-returns public goods, while self-identified right-leaning individuals do not differentiate between these. Interestingly, ideology does not predict which public good is deemed more morally appropriate to cooperate on. Results combined specify when and why self-identified leftists can(not) be expected to cooperate more than rightists and reveal how moral decision-making depends on structural elements of the public good provision problems that citizens face.
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