VI. The Populist's Dilemma

How Anglo women raped your thyroid and that's why you don't have friends anymore.

Previously:

…

There is one study in particular that proves all my previous points about how hormones might be the missing key in restoring cooperation among alienated and deracinated peoples. Here it is:

De Dreu et al. (2010) – “The Neuropeptide Oxytocin Regulates Parochial Altruism in Intergroup Conflict Among Humans”

I’ll let Grok summarize it for us.

• Study Design:

  • Participants: Healthy male participants (to control for hormonal variability) were administered intranasal oxytocin (24 IU) or a placebo in a double-blind, randomized trial.

  • Methodology: Participants engaged in economic games (e.g., intergroup prisoner’s dilemma) designed to measure cooperation within groups (in-group) and competition with others (out-group). The games simulated resource allocation, where participants could favor their group or act defensively toward outsiders.

  • Findings:

    • In-Group Favoritism: Oxytocin increased trust and cooperation within the participants’ assigned groups, leading to greater willingness to share resources and sacrifice personal gain for the group’s benefit. This suggests oxytocin strengthens tribal or group loyalty.

    • Out-Group Bias: Oxytocin also increased defensive aggression toward out-groups, including a tendency to withhold resources or act competitively against perceived rivals. Participants under oxytocin were more likely to exhibit “parochial altruism” (favoring their group at the expense of others), which can translate to anti-foreigner sentiment in real-world contexts.

    • Mechanism: Oxytocin enhances amygdala activity, heightening sensitivity to social cues and group identity. It also interacts with dopamine, reinforcing in-group bonding as rewarding, while amplifying fear or mistrust of outsiders in competitive settings.

  • Limitations: The study focused on males, used artificial group settings, and relied on economic games, which may not fully reflect real-world social dynamics. The dose (24 IU) is standard but may not mimic natural oxytocin levels.

So there you have it.

To overcome the cooperation problem in the Prisoner’s Dilemma, participants were simply given a hormone that boosted their ability to cooperate.

Hormones > Morality.

This is how we build trust and cooperation among the prisoners again.

I rest my case.

I accept your apologies, hormone doubters.

It will be $9 to read further.