We find the dual foundations of political ideology across the diversity of human social life

Abstract

Politics today is often characterised as a single dimension which represents a conflict, brought about by modernisation and industrialisation, between the hierarchy and traditionalism of the establishment and people seeking equity and change. Here we review evidence that contemporary politics reflects not one, but two fundamental dilemmas, and that these ‘dual foundations’ of politics are not unique to modern nations, but are inherent to life in all human groups. Human interdependence creates two dilemmas which require people to hold ideas about what is to be done. One dilemma concerns conflict between cooperation and competition. This dilemma leads to differences of opinion regarding the extent of equality and inequality. The other dilemma is about the coordination of collective activities. This dilemma leads to conflicts about the extent of social control. We use anthropological evidence from the Human Relations Area Files, and other literature from anthropology and related disciplines, to extend psychological work showing that these two fundamental dilemmas of group living lead to two dimensions of political conflict and ideology across a large diversity of societies. We end by arguing that quantitative approaches to studying political psychology beyond the experiences of industrialised nations will advance research in both anthropology and psychology. The dual foundations provide the big picture which can tie together the study of human politics across societies and disciplines.