Cooperative and Competitive Pew Political Types

Imagine subsistence living in an anarchist society, absent the protections that constrain self-serving impulses. You try to build a fence. You have to keep defending your garden instead of cultivating it. In a land full of unrestricted thievery, you can neither feed yourself nor have surplus for those around you. The benefit of civilization is to escape this lose-lose scenario.

Pew Research Center Survey Shows

A Pew Research Center survey of the U.S. general public, in 2021, showed clusters of political beliefs and values. The origin of these Pew labels and type descriptors are detailed in an earlier post. The following quadrants show the author’s take on each Pew type’s ideology related to cooperation versus competition.

Unlike Guy Standing (2019), I don’t favor universal basic income, because I believe it would give too much power to government agencies who can manipulate access to it. I’m in favor of a similar concept for a social safety net. How about universal basic acreage? A lifetime trust of property could be improved and rented out, traded for another allotment, but not sold. It could be lived on and used for subsistence-level farming. It could be passed on to a descendant or a chosen heir that hadn’t yet received an allotment, but it would remain in the commons, protected by the state. It seems a Libertarian-friendly plan in that individuals must work for their own sustenance. Yet it is collectivist in that “public ownership of key resources” is retained. “Democratic control of the economy” is retained so long as neighboring allotment stewards can agree on a decision-making process. The Libertarian ideal would be that subsistence agriculture would replace the nanny state, for those who can’t make it in another line of work. Communalism small-scale would be the alternative more workable than communism large scale.

Thanks for reading. Here’s a related post about egregores.

References

Standing, G. (2019). Plunder of the commons: A manifesto for sharing public wealth. Pelican Books.

Repeat of Quadrants Content

This section repeats the writing in the quadrants, for any who have difficulty reading in that format. Groups are presented in order of political party size.

Auth-left Quadrant

Pew type: Democratic mainstays

We have set up orderly and fair distribution of the surplus. Life is gradually getting better and more fair for all. We’re all in this together.

Pew type: Establishment liberals

Thru technology advancement and education, we will have surplus to provide for all who are in need. The Biden administration did create much legislation to reform immigration, but it wasn’t effective. Biden dismantled some of Trumps border policies, believing that immigration could be both compassionate and orderly. The resulting influx of record numbers of migrants has led wage-threatened working class Democratic mainstays to align with the populist right.

Auth-right Quadrant

Pew type: Committed conservatives

There’s not enuf to go around. Mine is protected. I’ll give you a part if you work for it.

Pew type: Faith and flag conservatives

God helps those who help themselves. It’s our responsibility to provide first for self, then for family, then for the community of believers when in need.

Lib-right Quadrant

Pew type: Populist right

Those Davos types want to take over and be the boss of the world. There’s not enuf to go around. Liberals tax working people to give generously to loafers. Don’t come around and try to take what’s mine cuz my 2nd amendment.

Pew type: Ambivalent right

Hack it. Create it. Keep your wealth offshore or in asset classes that can’t be snatched up by the government (digital currencies or NFTs). Don’t scrabble for scarce resources; jump into arenas where the market is wide open for innovation. If u can’t beat em, join em.

Lib-left (Green) Quadrant

Pew type: Progressive left

Change is not happening fast enuf, like a living wage! Some things are getting worse, especially income inequality. We need a revolution to redistribute wealth. The committed conservatives, after their initial resource grabs arranged in tandem with their government buddies, they pretend they got it fair and that others can too. Show me where they’re making new land.

Pew type: Outsider left

Scarcity is an illusion. With a focus on gratitude, you will not only be content, you will attract to your life abundance.