SUVs: The Moral Highground
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Last week, we talked about Prius owners who also owned SUVs. My theory is that it’s moral self-regulation: We constantly tally up our good and our bad, letting our “goodness” in one area allow for some “badness” elsewhere.
Well, here’s some research showing that SUV owners, at least, don’t believe they’re doing anything wrong. In fact, they’ve convinced themselves that they’re rather noble indeed:
As we studied American Hummer owners and their ideological beliefs, we found that they consider Hummer driving a highly moral consumption choice,” write the authors. “For Hummer owners it is possible to claim the moral high ground.”
“Our analysis of the underlying American identity discourses revealed that being under siege by (moral) critics is an historically established feature of being an American,” write the authors. “The moralistic critique of their consumption choices readily inspired Hummer owners to adopt the role of the moral protagonist who defends American national ideals.”
That’s what I told myself when I bought my Canyonero.
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Ryan there is a difference between rationalization and “moral self-regulation”. Adopting the orphan after you’ve murdered it’s mother doesn’t exactly negate the killing.
[...] consider the study Ryan Sager highlighted a while back, showing that many SUV owners don’t merely think their choice of vehicles is [...]
[...] consider the study Ryan Sager highlighted a while back, showing that many SUV owners don’t merely think their choice of vehicles [...]
[...] consider the study Ryan Sager highlighted a while back, showing that many SUV owners don’t merely think their choice of vehicles is [...]