Masterclass for Social Justice (Copy)

Trust thought for today - Hurray, at last Nudge folks agreeing with what many others have been telling them for a while - behavioural scientists, unsurprisingly, see problems solely in terms of err behavioural science, which is problematic. As Tim Harford says here if 'the real problem is not individual, but systemic, then nudges are at best limited and at worst a harmful diversion'. And he also reminds us that "empirically tested, behaviourally rigorous bad policy can be bad policy nonetheless". Indeed.

This focus is on the problem being the individual, but the individual acts within a system which has different drivers. Making people responsible is convenient for companies who don't want to reformulate their products or change their behaviour and politicians who want simplistic answers with minimal effort to complex systemic problems they are too focused on re-election to address.

The authors of the study conclude “We have been unwitting accomplices,” write Chater and Loewenstein, “to forces opposed to helping create a better society.”

It almost feels like all of our inclination is to put the blame and responsibility firmly on the individual not the system, the business model, the organisation, the policy. From social media harms to the Post Office scandal, drug policy to the legal system. (As per my 'People are not the problem and deterrence is not the key article https://lnkd.in/eBQ87cYB).

This is not to say we each have no responsibility, but our choices are influenced by many many factors. Good article.

One for you perhaps Jon Alexander, Roger Miles, Christian Hunt, Ruth Steinholtz, Florent Gaillard, Simon Allison (he/him)

Found here