New Deal, New Patriots: How 1930s Government Spending Boosted Patriotism During WWII

New Deal, New Patriots: How 1930s Government Spending Boosted Patriotism During WWII. Bruno Caprettini, Hans-Joachim Voth. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, qjac028, June 30 2022. https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjac028

Abstract: We demonstrate an important complementarity between patriotism and public-good provision. After 1933, the New Deal led to an unprecedented expansion of the US federal government’s role. Those who benefited from social spending were markedly more patriotic during WWII: they bought more war bonds, volunteered more, and, as soldiers, won more medals. This pattern was new—WWI volunteering did not show the same geography of patriotism. We match military service records with the 1940 census to show that this pattern holds at the individual level. Using geographical variation, we exploit two instruments to suggest that the effect is causal: droughts and congressional committee representation predict more New Deal agricultural support, as well as bond buying, volunteering, and medals.

JEL D64 - Altruism; PhilanthropyD74 - Conflict; Conflict Resolution; Alliances; RevolutionsD91 - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision MakingH53 - Government Expenditures and Welfare ProgramsH56 - National Security and WarI38 - Government Policy; Provision and Effects of Welfare ProgramsN31 - U.S.; Canada: Pre-1913N41 - U.S.; Canada: Pre-1913P16 - Political Economy

5 Conclusion

Patriotism is widespread today – in 48 out of 52 countries, according to the World Value Survey, more than 80% of citizens are "quite proud" or "very proud" of their country (Beauchamp, 2014). At the same time, an important literature views nation-states and nationalist sentiment as artificial inventions that are socially constructed based on shared myths and narratives (Anderson, 2006; Colley, 1992). In the words of Yuval Harari: "We can weave common myths such as .. the nationalist myths of modern states. Such myths give Sapiens unprecedented ability to cooperate flexibly in large numbers... with countless strangers"(Harari, 2014). Instead of common narratives and myths as sources of patriotism, we focus on the contractual origins of state capacity, and in particular, intrinsic reciprocity towards the nation (Besley, 2020; Sobel, 2005). We demonstrate that where the US federal government provided help and support in times of crisis during the 1930s, patriotic deeds became much more common. Roosevelt’s New Deal ushered in an unprecedented expansion of federal spending, fundamentally changing the role of the Federal Government in American society (Schlesinger, 1957). Where the New Deal offered more support, Americans were more likely to help their country in wartime. By observing the same, costly actions – volunteering and medal awards – in both WW I and II, we can examine what factors changed attitudes. Importantly, New Deal spending was not targeted at areas that were already more patriotic during WW I; it created a new geography of patriotism. These results hold both at the county level and at the individual level, examining patterns of volunteering among the 12 million American men of military age in 1940. Our findings have implications for two literatures. First, they offer insight into the synergy between civic capital and pro-social behaviors on the one side, and state capacity on the other. An emerging literature in economics analyzes the origins of capable states and the role of armed conflict (Besley and Persson, 2009; Acemoglu, 2005; Gennaioli and Voth, 2015). It often focuses on war shocks, military spending needs, and taxes as a key dimension of state building (Levi, 1989; Scheve and Stasavage, 2010). The case of US patriotism during WW II suggests that the complementarity between government intervention and civic capital goes far beyond taxation and direct, legal obligations – with social spending and government support inducing a form of generalized, intrinsic "reciprocity" towards the country as a whole (Besley, 2020; Sobel, 2005). In this way, the New Deal helped to overcome a fundamental distrust of the federal government (Wallis, 2010). The US pattern after 1940 therefore bears out a general mechanism that led conservative politicians from Bismarck to Churchill to advocate greater social spending to enhance military prowess. Second, a large literature has demonstrated that culture — the combination of attitudes, prac23 tices, and beliefs governing everyday life — can persist over long periods (Becker et al., 2016; Guiso et al., 2016; Voigtländer and Voth, 2012; Nunn and Wantchekon, 2011). Research on the determinants of changes in attitudes is in its infancy (Giuliano and Nunn, 2021). Here, we demonstrate how government spending can fundamentally transform patriotic attitudes in a relatively short space of time, creating a new geography of patriotism. 

Theolinguistic Study of Directive Speech Acts Performed by an Islamic Preacher in Friday Sermon in Bandung, Indonesia

Theolinguistic Study of Directive Speech Acts Performed by Islamic Preacher in Friday Sermon in Bandung Indonesia. Cipto Wardoyo, Lina Marlina, Wahyudi Darmalakasana, Ija Suntana, and Dadang Kahmad. In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Sociology Education (ICSE 2017) - Volume 1, pages 178-183, ISBN: 978-989-758-316-2. https://www.scitepress.org/Papers/2017/70950/70950.pdf

Abstract: Theolinguistic study tries to explain the relationship between linguistics and religion. Religious rituals in Islamic teachings are closely related to verbal activities such as pray, daily prayer, sermons, and wedding ceremony. One method of delivering the teachings of Islam is through Friday sermons. The speech of preacher in Islamic Friday sermons is relevant to be approached pragmatically by using the theory of speech acts. This research tries to focus on studying directive speech acts performed by khatib (Islamic preacher) in Friday sermons. The data in this study was taken from the recording Friday sermon mosque in the Bandung, West Java, Indonesia. The result shows that the strategy of directive speech acts using suffix “lash” and “kan” also has higher number among the finding data. The directive speech acts strategy using inclusive pronoun “kita” indicates that khatib want to be more polite. The strategy of directive speech acts using prohibition words also has quite high number. Khatib asked attendees to fear God, be thankful, always remember and pray to God, khatib supported his argument with Quranic verses and prophetic tradition.

Keywords: Theolinguistics, Speech Acts, Islamic Friday Sermon.

People fail to give prosocial input (complimenting someone), because of overestimation of the costs of doing so (e.g., making recipients uncomfortable); this reluctance to give prosocial input results in a short supply of kindness

Kindness in Short Supply: Evidence for Inadequate Prosocial Input. Jennifer E. Abel et al. Current Opinion in Psychology, August 20 2022, 101458. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2022.101458

Abstract: In everyday life, people often have opportunities to improve others’ lives, whether offering well-intentioned advice or complimenting someone on a job well done. These are opportunities to provide “prosocial input” (information intended to benefit others), including feedback, advice, compliments, and expressions of gratitude. Despite widespread evidence that giving prosocial input can improve the well-being of both givers and recipients, people sometimes hesitate to offer their input. The current paper documents when and why people fail to give prosocial input, noting that potential givers overestimate the costs of doing so (e.g., making recipients uncomfortable) and underestimate the benefits (e.g., being helpful) for at least four psychological reasons. Unfortunately, the reluctance to give prosocial input results in a short supply of kindness.

Keywords: prosocial behaviorsocial cognitionfeedbackadvicecomplimentsgratitude

Due to the male backlash channel, women in employment in India face significantly higher levels of intimate partner violence compared to women involved in domestic work only

Male Backlash and Female Guilt: Women’s Employment and Intimate Partner Violence in Urban India. Sowmya Dhanaraj & Vidya Mahambare. Feminist Economics, Volume 28, 2022 - Issue 1, Pages 170-198, Nov 25 2021. https://doi.org/10.1080/13545701.2021.1986226

Abstract: This study investigates the relationship between a married woman’s paid work participation and her exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) in urban India. Results show that due to the male backlash channel, women in employment face significantly higher levels of IPV compared to women involved in domestic work only. The study does not find evidence that any autonomy women gain by doing paid work lowers their experience of IPV. Furthermore, this paper contributes to the literature on gender-based violence by introducing and testing for a “female guilt channel” – a phenomenon in which women in paid work justify IPV against them more than those not in paid work – that, in turn, further raises their IPV exposure. The paper finds weak evidence for the guilt channel in the overall sample and stronger evidence among women with intermediate levels of education.

Highlights

. Women in paid work in urban India are more likely to accept intimate partner violence (IPV), as well as experience a higher degree of marital controlling behavior by husbands.

. Urban women and men with tertiary education are most likely to overcome gendered norms for paid work.

. IPV is higher among urban women in paid work whose husbands are not employed or earning less.

. Raising women’s economic opportunities alone may not lead to universally better outcomes for them inside households.

Keywords: Violence against womenwomen’s paid workgender relationsgender roles

JEL J12J16