Journal of Public Economics · 2021 · Samuel Bazzi、Martin Fiszbein、Mesay Gebresilasse
中文摘要
“粗犷个人主义”——个人主义与反国家主义的结合——是美国文化的显著特征，深深植根于该国的边疆拓居史。如今，在西进扩张时代总体边疆经历(total frontier experience, TFE)更多的县，粗犷个人主义更为盛行。个人主义虽然可能有利于创新，但也可能削弱集体行动，从而带来潜在的不利社会后果。我们认为，美国的边疆文化阻碍了对COVID-19疫情的应对。在美国各县，TFE越高，社交疏离和口罩使用越少，地方政府控制病毒的努力也越弱。我们认为，对公共卫生风险集体应对薄弱的若干更直接的解释——包括公民责任感的缺失、党派主义以及对科学的不信任——其根源都在于边疆文化。
Abstract
“Rugged individualism”—the combination of individualism and anti-statism—is a prominent feature of American culture with deep roots in the country’s history of frontier settlement. Today, rugged individualism is more prevalent in counties with greater total frontier experience (TFE) during the era of westward expansion. While individualism may be conducive to innovation, it can also undermine collective action, with potentially adverse social consequences. We argue that America’s frontier culture hampered responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Across U.S. counties, greater TFE is associated with less social distancing and mask use as well as weaker local government effort to control the virus. We argue that frontier culture lies at the root of several more proximate explanations for the weak collective response to public health risks, including a lack of civic duty, partisanship, and distrust in science.