Description
Book SynopsisTrade Review"[T]hought provoking."--John R. Hibbing, Science "[T]his disturbing book may provoke debate, dismay and considerable anger."--Kirkus "[A]n unusually witty and engaging academic book."--Ethan Epstein, National Journal "[I]nteresting throughout."--Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution "The Hidden Agenda of the Political Mind is provocative and often persuasive... Weeden and Kurzban remind us that self-interest is a complicated concept."--Glenn C. Altschuler, Huffington Post "The book is a thoughtful reminder that politics is often simply a contest over finite resources in which different voters want opposing things."--John McDermott, Financial Times "Authors Weeden and Kurzban have written a well-researched ... analysis of the political mind... [T]he book satisfies the intellectual demands of researchers and general readers. Perfect for fans of Thomas Frank's What's the Matter with Kansas?"--Library Journal "Weeden and Kurzban's book is well worth a read."--Anthony Randazzo, Reason "Weeden and Kurzban's argument will trouble those who believe that politics is about more than trying to find ways to satisfy one's interests."--Choice "[O]ne of the most interesting books I have read on politics in quite a while... A fascinating book."--Daniel Finkelstein, The Times (London) "The book makes an interesting contribution to our understanding of political attitudes and is accessible to a wide audience interested in political science... The Hidden Agenda of the Political Mind answers an important question and provides new depth to many of the popular theories on opinion formation and partisan attachments... By showing how self-interest factors into our decision making in ways we do not even consciously understand and how political parties exploit that to their advantage and by doing so in a way that is accessible outside an academic audience, the authors will likely make a significant contribution to the general understanding of public opinion."--Chad Murphy, The Journal of Politics "An important contribution to a field dominated by group-oriented explanations."--Christopher Weber, Political Science Quarterly
Table of ContentsPart I: Political Minds Chapter 1: Agendas in Action 3 Chapter 2: Investigating Interests 26 Chapter 3: Machiavellian Minds 44 Part II: Political Issues Chapter 4: Fighting over Sex: Lifestyle Issues and Religion 69 Chapter 5: Rules of the Game: Group Identities and Human Capital 96 Chapter 6: Money Matters: Redistribution and Hard-Times Programs 123 Part III: Political Coalitions Chapter 7: The Many Shades of Red and Blue 145 Chapter 8: The Republican Coalition 160 Chapter 9: The Democratic Coalition 176 Part IV: Political Challenges Chapter 10: An Uncomfortable Take on Political Positions 195 Acknowledgments 217 Appendixes 219 Data Appendix for Chapter 2 219 Data Appendix for Part II 236 Data Appendix for Chapter 4 251 Data Appendix for Chapter 5 268 Data Appendix for Chapter 6 287 Data Appendix for Chapter 8 304 Data Appendix for Chapter 9 321 Notes 343 References 351 Index 359
