Empathy, Statistics & Propaganda
One more tool of social pollution is familiar to anyone who follows the news — empathy. Being able to feel someone else’s pain can be a good thing, but it can also lead to poor decisions. Worse, empathy can lead to bad policy, programs that don’t address serious problems or programs that don’t solve a problem at all. This is because people can experience two kinds of empathy. In narrative empathy, we focus on the protagonist of a story, typically a tragic or disturbing one. Statistical empathy is having feelings for people in general when they experience a social problem like homelessness or addiction.
Paul Bloom makes the case against acting on empathy in his classic essay.
Stories versus Data
A story with conflict, suffering, and high stakes will grab attention. A baby trapped in a well or a mother beaten almost to death in a park will get lots of attention from the media. Where some social issue like gun violence or sexual assault seems relevant, stories might get more attention.
On the Right and on the Left, people do look for stories that support a point of view:
On gun control — We need stricter gun laws, someone says, so stories about children accidentally shooting themselves are worth sharing.
On immigration — Too many Muslims are immigrating to the United States says the xenophobic racist, so we need to tell the stories of people who got raped or killed by Muslims.
On welfare — We need to hear stories of people abusing the system because welfare obviously steals money from working people and encourages dependence on the government.
These stories make us think about whatever aspect of an issue the writer wants to share. Sometimes, writers and video bloggers share narratives with honest intent. But, sometimes they don’t. Sometimes, the responsible party doesn’t care about the truth or statistics. Their point is to push an agenda by making Muslim immigration, or gun violence or welfare look much more dangerous to society than they are.
Statistics Should Help Us Focus
Ideology drives many choices, both for good and for bad. People can select data to make a certain point. People can select stories that make a point. That point might not be scientifically sound or logical, but this doesn’t really matter. What matters is to make people oppose gun control or Muslim migration, or whatever.
Using human interest stories to illustrate the real causes and consequences of a social problem? Good. That’s how it should be done. Knowing the statistics on violent crime, addiction, or poverty will help us make better decisions about what to do. A story about a rape victim doesn’t tell us anything about violent crime in the United States — only reliable statistics can do that.
A responsible person who wants us to make responsible political decisions will start by looking at the statistical character of a problem. Once they know more about the problem of sexual violence, or drug addiction or homelessness, then they can share stories that correctly illustrate either the problem or an effective solution.
Propagandists, politicians, and lots of activists pick a cause or solution, then they pick appropriate stories to sell their perspective.
