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Trust and the Us-Them Mentality
Tuesday, January 11th, 2011
Robert Wechsler
Oxytocin is a hormone released by the hypothalamus portion of the brain
which, among other things, makes people trust each other more. In other
words, one could argue that local government ethics seeks to increase
the release of oxytocin in the brains of people when they think about
their local government.
An article in today's New York Times discusses a study that shows how the positive effects of oxytocin tend to be limited to an individual's in-group. The study focuses on ethnicity, but it would seem to apply equally to any us-them division.
While government ethics tends to focus on the public's trust in government, which is essential to citizens' participation in their local government as well as to their support for what their government is trying to accomplish in the community, trust – and the lack of trust – is also important within the government. Nothing creates a worse ethics environment than the strong feelings of loyalty that accompany an us-them mentality.
One of the strongest memories from my first involvement in my town's local government is a high-level official telling me, with incredible scorn in his voice, that the people of the town just wanted to vote down every budget, despite the fact that budgets with sizeable property tax hikes had recently passed. I realized that there doesn't have to be an actual us-them conflict for officials to believe they are in a war against their own community. Instead, it is important for many individuals to manufacture an us-them situation in order to justify their self-serving actions to themselves, and to each other. All is fair in war, especially when you know what your town needs, and those who stand in your way do not.
With this mentality, the same individual, along with his colleagues, could justify large no-bid contracts, games played with the budget, and the use of intimidation and personal attack to keep the ignorant, selfish public at bay. You could practically hear the oxytocin being released from the hypothalami of this closed in-group of officials who could trust each other, and no one else. They could trust each other to support their ploys and cover-ups, and never to snitch, never to apologize, and never to let their consciences get the best of them.
A thing like trust is best when it is open and worst when it is closed. People trusting in those who run their community, when the trust is deserved, is a good thing. People in a local government trusting only those in their circle, and working hard to portray themselves as trustworthy, is a horrible thing.
Called "the hormone of love," it looks like oxytocin is also the hormone of self-interest. It is tied to romance and monogamy, which are good things, but in a government context, the equivalent of monogamy is a bad thing. In fact, a lot of government ethics matters arise out of good familial and romantic relationships, which can cause a lot of problems in any organization, but especially in a government.
Robert Wechsler
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics
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An article in today's New York Times discusses a study that shows how the positive effects of oxytocin tend to be limited to an individual's in-group. The study focuses on ethnicity, but it would seem to apply equally to any us-them division.
While government ethics tends to focus on the public's trust in government, which is essential to citizens' participation in their local government as well as to their support for what their government is trying to accomplish in the community, trust – and the lack of trust – is also important within the government. Nothing creates a worse ethics environment than the strong feelings of loyalty that accompany an us-them mentality.
One of the strongest memories from my first involvement in my town's local government is a high-level official telling me, with incredible scorn in his voice, that the people of the town just wanted to vote down every budget, despite the fact that budgets with sizeable property tax hikes had recently passed. I realized that there doesn't have to be an actual us-them conflict for officials to believe they are in a war against their own community. Instead, it is important for many individuals to manufacture an us-them situation in order to justify their self-serving actions to themselves, and to each other. All is fair in war, especially when you know what your town needs, and those who stand in your way do not.
With this mentality, the same individual, along with his colleagues, could justify large no-bid contracts, games played with the budget, and the use of intimidation and personal attack to keep the ignorant, selfish public at bay. You could practically hear the oxytocin being released from the hypothalami of this closed in-group of officials who could trust each other, and no one else. They could trust each other to support their ploys and cover-ups, and never to snitch, never to apologize, and never to let their consciences get the best of them.
A thing like trust is best when it is open and worst when it is closed. People trusting in those who run their community, when the trust is deserved, is a good thing. People in a local government trusting only those in their circle, and working hard to portray themselves as trustworthy, is a horrible thing.
Called "the hormone of love," it looks like oxytocin is also the hormone of self-interest. It is tied to romance and monogamy, which are good things, but in a government context, the equivalent of monogamy is a bad thing. In fact, a lot of government ethics matters arise out of good familial and romantic relationships, which can cause a lot of problems in any organization, but especially in a government.
Robert Wechsler
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics
---
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