The Wealth Paradox
Economic Prosperity and the Hardening of Attitudes

This book presents compelling evidence of the 'wealth paradox', where economic prosperity can also fuel prejudice, social unrest, and intergroup hostility.

Frank Mols (Author), Jolanda Jetten (Author)

9781107439139, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 9 May 2017

236 pages, 57 b/w illus. 2 maps 4 tables
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.2 cm, 0.39 kg

'… this book deserves an audience beyond academia: this is myth-busting at its most politically useful.' The Times Higher Education Supplement

The West is currently in the grip of a perfect storm: a lingering economic recession, a global refugee crisis, declining faith in multiculturalism, and the rise of populist anti-immigration parties. These developments seem to confirm the widely held view that hardship and poverty lead to social unrest and, more specifically, scapegoating of minorities. Yet in this provocative new book, Mols and Jetten present compelling evidence to show that prejudice and intergroup hostility can be equally prevalent in times of economic prosperity, and among more affluent sections of the population. Integrating theory and research from social psychology, political science, sociology, and history, the authors systematically investigate why positive factors such as gratification, economic prosperity, and success may also fuel negative attitudes and behaviours. The Wealth Paradox provides a timely and important re-evaluation of the role that economic forces play in shaping prejudice.

Part I. What We Know (Or Think We Know): 1. Recognising the elephant
2. Tracing the origins of 'harsh times' assumptions
3. Empirical evidence for the 'harsh times producing hard attitudes' hypothesis
Part II. Broadening our Horizon: The 'Wealth Paradox': 4. Rethinking the relationship between wealth and tolerance: national, regional and local trends
5. Development aid, charitable giving and economic prosperity
6. The relative nature of wealth
Part III. Understanding the 'Wealth Paradox': 7. Towards an explanation of the wealth paradox: introducing social identity theorising
8. The wealth paradox explained
9. The missing link: crafty politicians galvanising latent sentiments
Final words.

Subject Areas: Economics [KC], Political ideologies [JPF], Social, group or collective psychology [JMH], Psychology [JM], Social & cultural history [HBTB]