People resist economic arguments not because of lack of exposure but because holding mainstream beliefs provides psychological benefits—comfort, social belonging—so challenging a shared worldview is painful, illustrated by an economist whose picnic companions physically edged away after he questioned the minimum wage.

causalpending

Speaker

Bryan Caplan

Evidence Quote

people generally get some psychological benefits out of believing the world is the way they'd like to see it

Source

Bryan Caplan on The Myth of the Rational Voter 6/25/2007EconTalk
Created: 6/15/2026, 9:20:37 AM

My Notes

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