Expressions of narrow self-interest are rhetorical performances rather than literal self-reports

Evidence

Was she really as small-minded as she claimed to be? I care about issues that are close to home,'' I care if it a¡ects me personally,” I care if it's for my children'': these are the familiar phrases that many Americans use to explain political involvement and apathy. Journalists, activists, and theorists often take these phrases at face value; politicians base social policies on them, trying to play to voters whom they imagine to be self-interested and short-sighted, cutting funds for projects that do not seem close to home.” The phrases are usually interpreted as transparently obvious indications of citizens’ self-interest and lack of broad political concern ^ their “small-mindedness.” But these insistant, extravagant expressions of self-interest do not simply indicate clear, straightforward self-interest or parochial thinking. The phrases work hard. Activists, intellectuals, and other concerned citizens often assume that someone like Sherry just doesn’t care or is self-interested or ignorant; we try to draw people like her into political participation by impressing upon them that they should care (perhaps by telling them how nuclear war might a¡ect their kids), or telling them not to be so self-interested. — Nina Eliasoph, “Close to home”, 3

Categorization

• DEEPTHINKING: The core claim that parochial ‘self-interest’ talk is performative work deserving ethnographic analysis rather than transparent self-report inverts how activists, journalists, and policy-makers read such statements.
• SEED: Article angle: aphorism sound-bites of disengagement as cultural performance — how ‘not my problem cause it isn’t close to home’ functions as moral labor, dismantling the laziness narrative.
• corroborated: 5 independent passages support this claim — Nina Eliasoph, “Close to home”: The work of avoiding…, 3
• XREF: connects to: Accepting self-interest as public speech’s only form can be fatal for communities — Nina Eliasoph, Avoiding politics: how Americans…, 160; People cling to self-interest vocabularies even when they contradict experienced motives; Self-interest is redefined by whatever level the collective self-categorisation occupies — John Drury, The role of social identity processes…, 50 (+7 more)

Broader Connections

• Perceivers choose among competing category labels to serve self-interest #corroborates (0.82)
• People cling to self-interest vocabularies even when they contradict experienced motives #corroborates (0.80)
• Self-interest shifts which stereotype category gets applied #corroborates (0.80)
• Self-interest is redefined by whatever level the collective self-categorisation occupies #expands (0.78) — John Drury, The role of social identity processes…, 50
• Accepting self-interest as public speech’s only form can be fatal for communities #expands (0.75) — Nina Eliasoph, Avoiding politics, 160