A nudge from the past
James Forsyth 10:04am
Rory Sutherland, The Spectator’s Wiki Man, sends along a historical example of nudging, the Cameroons’ new favourite idea:
Frederick the Great of Prussia saw the potato's potential to help feed his nation and lower the price of bread, but faced the challenge of overcoming the people's prejudice against the plant. When he issued a 1774 order for his subjects to grow potatoes as protection against famine, the town of Kolberg replied: "The things have neither smell nor taste, not even the dogs will eat them, so what use are they to us?" Trying a less direct approach to encourage his subjects to begin planting potatoes, Frederick used a bit of reverse psychology: he planted a royal field of potato plants and stationed a heavy guard to protect this field from thieves. Nearby peasants naturally assumed that anything worth guarding was worth stealing, and so snuck into the field and snatched the plants for their home gardens. Of course, this was entirely in line with Frederick's wishes.
The cleverness of nudging as an idea is that it works with human nature. The question —as Bagehot noted this week — is whether can it be turned into a comprehensive governing agenda.
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Ian C
July 30th, 2008 6:57pm Report this commentIt's only any good if people can't spot they're being 'nudged'. Not within the capability of a politician near us, therefore!
Nicholas
July 30th, 2008 7:57pm Report this commentAre you sure you have the right picture on this article? Some evidence please to support the fact that the cove in armour and ermine is the son and not the father! Thankee!
Rory Sutherland
July 30th, 2008 11:08pm Report this commentI agree, some nudging only works covertly (as this example demonstrates). A modern version might be to pay really uncool people to go around smoking. "Most doctors don't smoke" never really worked for me: "Lots of accountants smoke" might have been nearer the mark.
Yet quite a lot of nudges may affect our unconscious behaviour even as we are consciously aware of it - the narrowing stripes at the end of motorways cause me to slow even though I am consciously aware that they are not evenly spaced.
At a third level - take the vehicle-activates speed signs in my earlier post - the whole thing works quite overtly. Odd that merely telling people their speed (with a digital sign)changes behaviour more effectively than using a threat of punishment (with a speed camera), but in many ways a wonderful reflection on human nature, and a vindication of the libertarian right.
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