Passions, Preferences, and the Politics of Self-Binding

Organiser: Department of Politics and International Relations

Speaker: Professor Krzysztof Pelc, Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Oxford

We make plans and then sabotage them - and so do governments. For people, this inner clash takes familiar forms: passions like anger, lust, gluttony, or the pull of distraction thwart our long-term goals. Yet governments are just as prone to temptation. Leaders give in to political passions when they attempt to preserve power at a cost to future welfare - by printing money ahead of an election, imposing distortionary tariffs to please domestic lobbies, or stoking majority sentiment against minority groups. What can the study of politics teach us about managing these competing impulses? When are self-imposed constraints a source of greater freedom, and when do they become a form of domination? Tackling these questions can help us design institutions that balance prudence and passion - and perhaps teach us to do the same for ourselves.