Deep Dive: Arnold Kling on the Three Languages of Politics
June 5, 2022
In this episode of The Great Antidote, guest Arnold Kling and host Juliette Sellgren discuss Kling's description of the three languages of politics. Kling argues that progressives, conservatives and libertarians each have their own language and way of looking at the world. This makes it hard to communicate and easy to demonize others. The three language axes he identifies are oppression-oppressed (progressives); barbarous-civilized (conservatives); violent coercion-liberty (libertarians). Arnold Kling is an economist and the author of the book The Three Languages of Politics: Talking Across Political Divides (now in its third edition). His substack, In My Tribe, explores many areas of economics and policy.
Kling talks about these ideas as expressed in the first edition of the book in 2013 and how his focus has changed since then. He's shifted from thinking of the languages as whole expressions of world-views and more as communication tools for in-tribe (and to a lesser extent out-tribe) signaling. That is, his interests have shifted to the psychology as opposed to the political theory. Kling and Sellgren talk about how the trends he noticed as he wrote the first edition in 2013 have gotten worse, more anger and outrage.
Some of the recent examples he uses are shifts between progressives and conservatives early in 2020 as covid was spreading in the US, the reactions to the recent leak of the Supreme Court draft opinion on Roe v. Wade, the Russia-Ukraine War, "Trans" and "Woke" movements.
He also gives two examples of things young people should know (while suggesting another list of 103). His first suggestion is that young people should try to get on the path to having grandchildren. He talk about how joyful being a grandparent is but how it is not something that a lot of young people might be considering or prioritizing - he didn't when he was younger. The second, is an encouragement to work in the "for profit" sector especially early in your career. For profits, he says, attract and keep different (and in many cases better) personalities than the nonprofit sector. Accountability to customers makes for a better working environment and less socio-paths.
When Kling reflects on things that he's changed his mind on, he briefly mentions his younger Keynesian and left-wing beliefs, but in more depth he talks about the challenge of supporting content on the internet. He says, "Information wants to be free but people need to get paid." He used to think that micro payments should take off but from his own experience (of never making a micro payment himself!) and learning to think about the transaction costs of those kinds of situations, his thinking has changed.
Kling talks about these ideas as expressed in the first edition of the book in 2013 and how his focus has changed since then. He's shifted from thinking of the languages as whole expressions of world-views and more as communication tools for in-tribe (and to a lesser extent out-tribe) signaling. That is, his interests have shifted to the psychology as opposed to the political theory. Kling and Sellgren talk about how the trends he noticed as he wrote the first edition in 2013 have gotten worse, more anger and outrage.
Some of the recent examples he uses are shifts between progressives and conservatives early in 2020 as covid was spreading in the US, the reactions to the recent leak of the Supreme Court draft opinion on Roe v. Wade, the Russia-Ukraine War, "Trans" and "Woke" movements.
He also gives two examples of things young people should know (while suggesting another list of 103). His first suggestion is that young people should try to get on the path to having grandchildren. He talk about how joyful being a grandparent is but how it is not something that a lot of young people might be considering or prioritizing - he didn't when he was younger. The second, is an encouragement to work in the "for profit" sector especially early in your career. For profits, he says, attract and keep different (and in many cases better) personalities than the nonprofit sector. Accountability to customers makes for a better working environment and less socio-paths.
When Kling reflects on things that he's changed his mind on, he briefly mentions his younger Keynesian and left-wing beliefs, but in more depth he talks about the challenge of supporting content on the internet. He says, "Information wants to be free but people need to get paid." He used to think that micro payments should take off but from his own experience (of never making a micro payment himself!) and learning to think about the transaction costs of those kinds of situations, his thinking has changed.
Listen to this episode
The guest
The book
Other writings
- Explore Kling's Article archive at Econlib.
Related Liberty Fund content
- James Hartley, Can Sober Smithians Soften Polarized Partisans? at Speaking of Smith
- Listen to Arnold Kling's most recent EconTalk interview on his Three Languages book.
Related Great Antidote podcasts
- David French on the First Amendment
- Brian Knight on Woke Capitalism
- Jonathan Rauch on Cancel Culture and Free Speech
- Jonathan Rauch on The Constitution of Knowledge
People mentioned
- Kevin Kelly and his list of 103 things he wishes he has known
- Jonathan Haidt
- Greg Lukianoff (Great Antidote episode with Lukianoff)
- Tyler Cowen and questioning polarization (Great Antidote episode with Cowen)
- Matt Ygleasis' substack Slow Boring
- Jay Bhattacharya and his Great Antidote episode where he talks about the "laptop class"
- David French and his book Divided We Fall: America's Secession Threat and How to Restore Our Nation
- Yuval Levin and an article by him on why elite diversity is important to a healthy society
- Russ Robert's EconTalk interview with Kling (2013) and EconTalk interview with Kling (2020)
- Victor Davis Hansen
- Clay Shirky and Transaction Costs
Topics mentioned
- Social media and Twitter as polarizing platforms
- Class divisions
- Leaked Supreme Court draft opinion regarding Roe v. Wade
- Steel-Manning
Resources compiled by Christy Lynn