The Political Economy of Hatred: What Causes Racism, Anti-Semitism, and Anti-Americanism

Harvard professor Edward Glaeser’s study “The Political Economy of Hatred” demonstrates how politicians—“the entrepreneurs of hate”—spread hate-creating stories to discredit opponents whose policies benefit an out-group.

If you repeat a lie often enough, it becomes the truth. People who hear these stories think they might be true and will investigate only if there are private benefits from learning the truth.

Anti-Semitism also occurs in places where there are no Jews and among people who have never met Jews. Thirty-four percent of French but only 27 percent of the Vietnamese have an unfavorable opinion of the United States, although the latter had a bitter war with the U.S. only several decades ago. According to the 2002 Gallup Poll of the Islamic World, 89% of Kuwaitis and 96% of Pakistanis do not believe that Arabs destroyed the World Trade Center.

The central prediction of Glaeser’s model is that hatred will be spread against poor minorities by anti-redistribution candidates and against rich minorities by pro-redistribution candidates. It is always cheaper and more convenient to refute opponents by spreading hatred. Hitler, in an attempt to discredit socialists, cited the high percentage of intellectuals of Jewish origin among social publicists as proof of subversion. Glaeser attributes the tragedy of Jewish communities to the natural law that hatred is particularly likely to spread against groups that are politically relevant and socially isolated.

In his study, Glaeser uses a theoretical model and three examples to illustrate the idea: (1) racism in the United States, (2) anti-Semitism in 19th-century Europe, and (3) Islamic hatred of Americans.

Hatred is fostered with stories of an out-group’s crimes, but the impact of these stories comes from repetition, not truth. Hate-creating stories are supplied by politicians when such actions help to discredit opponents whose policies benefit an out-group. Egalitarians foment hatred against rich minorities; opponents of redistribution build hatred against poor minorities.

Hatred declines when there is private incentive to learn the truth. Increased economic interactions with a minority group may provide that incentive. The framework illuminates the evolution of anti-Black hatred in the American South, episodes of anti-Semitism in Europe, and the recent surge of anti-Americanism in the Arab world.

Very rigorous analysis. The paper is recommended reading for anyone trying to understand why political hatred persists even in the absence of factual basis.