Terror Management Theory

Now We Know - Income Disparity Makes People Unhappy



We're All Gonna Die!

Many people tend to push frightening realities out of mind, rather than face them head on. That's especially true when it comes to the terrifying event that no one can escape—death. Psychologist Sheldon Solomon says people may suppress conscious thoughts about their mortality, but unconscious ones still seep through.

In the book The Worm at the Core: On the Role of Death in Life, Solomon, along with psychologists Jeff Greenberg and Tom Pyszczynski, illustrate how death anxiety influences people's behavior in ways they would never suspect. The fear of death is so overwhelming, they say, that people go to great lengths to seek security; they embrace belief systems that give them a sense of meaning—religion, values, community.

Through decades of studies, Solomon and his colleagues have shown that people suppress their fear of mortality by supporting those who are similar to themselves. "If somebody does something that's in accord with your belief system then being reminded of death should make you like them more so," Solomon says.

People don't just respond by clinging to their in-group. They act in ways that make them feel better about themselves, whether that's demonstrating their physical prowess or buying status goods. In short, Solomon says, "we shore up our self-esteem in response to existential anxieties." [Hidden Brain]

NPR: As Income Gap Balloons, Is It Holding Back Growth?

Greed is good? NOT!  A perspective on the implications of inequality of incomes.  How deregulation has led to current  problems and other ideas.  After 1933 banking crises disappeared until the 1980s.

The GOP Social Security Medicare Plan - Political Suicide

• Red states by population derive more social benefits from Federal programs than Blue states?
• The only major group that Romney clearly carried was white males, especially "old ones"?
• By cutting social benefits older white males will die off even faster since they will be forced to chose between eating and healthcare? [e.g., Chained Cost of Living Adjustment]
• The majority of Tea Party members and politicians come from Red states where the 2010  Census was used to give them secure seats?

Effects:

• The Tea Party and/or GOP is reducing its only significant voting block nationally and especially in Red states by cutting social benefits.
• Blue states will become more blue.
• Secure "Tea Party" districts will become less secure and surviving spouses may become even more resentful and resolved to change the situation.
• By killing off seniors faster Medicare and Social Security may become even more solvent than it currently is.

#TerrorManagementTheory - The Strange Way It Affects Our #Behavior!   We are all going to die! Now We Know - Income Disparity Makes People Unhappy ; As #Income Gap Balloons, Is It Holding Back Growth?