The Psychology of a Rebel
July 19th, 2010
In his meandering article called, The Spirit of Independence: The Social Psychology of Freedom, featured in, “The American,” Lee Harris concludes with the struggle between “the natural libertarians…furiously insistent on defending their integrity as ethical agents,” and “those in power who naturally find such people troublesome nuisances, and who would prefer to rule a society made up of individuals who have been properly educated to know they were really incompetent to manage their own affairs.” Although here he clearly does not attempt to reserve judgment, Harris’ title labels the article, “Social Psychology,” which, until the conclusion at least, keeps its word.
He presents the concept of natural libertarians, those who may not know much about the ideology behind libertarianism but feel capable of managing their own lives, and therefore resist attempts by individuals or the government to run it for them.
Harris explains the psychology of natural libertarians using Rotter’s locus of control theory:
“Human beings, according to Rotter, could be divided into two basic groups: those who believed their locus of control was within themselves, and those who see themselves as under the control of forces located outside themselves, such as luck, or fate, or other people whose will cannot be resisted. The first group, called internals, believe that they are the masters of their own destiny; they tend to be high-achievers, optimistic about their ability to improve their lot, and to discard bad habits. They believe in willpower and positive thinking. They are determined to control their own lives, for better or worse. Members of the second group are called externals. They look on themselves as victims of circumstances, the playthings of fate.”
Natural libertarians tend to be internals. Which are you?
