Preference Formation, Social Location and Ideology

Abstract

This chapter examines how preferences are formed and how this preference-formation process can be determined by an individual’s social location and the ideology of their society. Simple desires require simple explanation, complex desires complex ones. Endogenous interests result from simple desires, exogenous ones from complex ones that result from our social location and history. Exogenous interests are formed by a situation and a perspective effect. Their social location determines the former, the perspective is formed by interests given their social location. The chapter explains the distinction between luck and systematic luck in greater deal and how we judge luck in terms of types of people in given social locations. It gives a detailed example of systematic luck in term of UK farmers, and how that systematic luck depends on their social location and British history. It then explains ideology as a cost-saving device for working out interests and how ideological beliefs can both bias and be biased by nature of the power and luck structure. Some groups manage to get their worldview extended by them to the view of other groups. The chapter explains how our beliefs go beyond our conscious thoughts and how this is implicated in our worldview and ideology.