Wednesday 26 November 2014

On political behaviour

If you’re trying to understand the ramifications of and behaviour behind all the various reports released yesterday then fear not, because Don Boudreaux has extracted a pertinent quote from Jonathan Haidt’s excellent 2012 book, The Righteous Mind:

Alpha-male chimps are not truly leaders of their groups.  They perform some public services, such as mediating conflicts.  But most of the time, they are better described as bullies who take what they want.

Politicians are not very far removed genetically from chimps, politics being “the province, not of civilized men and women but, rather, of brutes in suits.”

Understand now?

[Hat tip On Liberty Street]

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