although I’d note that politicians signal for ‘normality’ too
Normality might have a cost too: the cost of forgoing advantages which your high status affords you. Though what feature/advantage does normality exactly signal is not very clear to me.
Another issue is what would happen if a politician in India didn’t have a stable family?
That is interesting. Though it is not obvious that it would be a negative signal. I suspect that it might be somewhere close to neutral. Because, infighting families don’t seem to make the news so much during elections. Atleast that’s what seems to me from the few examples that pop up in mind.
Anybody familiar with Indian politics care to comment?
I think signalling normality helps give the impression of understanding ‘the common man’, ergo ‘me’. So you believe that they’re ‘in touch’ and that they would take similar things into account as what you take into account.
This is mostly about what people like and their day-to-day life. People don’t object so much to someone being exceptionally talented etc. although sometimes even the fact of being obviously intelligent or obviously financially succesful can be seen as meaning someone is out of touch.
Very interesting—although I’d note that politicians signal for ‘normality’ too: ‘I like football and pubs’, etc.
Another issue is what would happen if a politician in India didn’t have a stable family?
Normality might have a cost too: the cost of forgoing advantages which your high status affords you. Though what feature/advantage does normality exactly signal is not very clear to me.
That is interesting. Though it is not obvious that it would be a negative signal. I suspect that it might be somewhere close to neutral. Because, infighting families don’t seem to make the news so much during elections. Atleast that’s what seems to me from the few examples that pop up in mind.
Anybody familiar with Indian politics care to comment?
I think signalling normality helps give the impression of understanding ‘the common man’, ergo ‘me’. So you believe that they’re ‘in touch’ and that they would take similar things into account as what you take into account.
This is mostly about what people like and their day-to-day life. People don’t object so much to someone being exceptionally talented etc. although sometimes even the fact of being obviously intelligent or obviously financially succesful can be seen as meaning someone is out of touch.