Seeing rich people increases support for wealth redistribution

If people do not observe inequality, they are less likely to favor policies that redistribute wealth, such as taxation—but they are also more satisfied with their lot, according to online experiments involving 1,440 US-based participants. Milena Tsvetkova and colleagues developed a model simulating how network structure affects perception of inequality and tested its predictions through an online experiment where participants voted on tax rates. In the experiment, participants were randomly assigned as "rich" (with scores around 200) or "poor" (with scores around 20) and could observe only eight of the 24 total group members, with different network structures determining who they observed. Although all participants were informed in advance about the possible range of scores, the authors found that segregated networks—where rich observe only rich and poor observe only poor—produced the lowest redistribution via taxes and lowest polarization, keeping poor participants poorest but satisfied. Networks where poor participants could see many rich participants generated higher redistribution via taxes but also increased polarization and dissatisfaction. The rich participants rarely increased their support for redistribution regardless of network structure, while poor participants became more supportive when observing the benefits of higher taxation over repeated rounds. According to the authors, political communication strategies aiming to increase support for redistribution should enhance visibility of excessive wealth through news reports, political discourse, and social media—though this risks exacerbating polarization and conflict.

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