A DISTINCTION between values and interests is only a starting point to explore why the UK’s vote on the EU went the way it did and why decision making on voting may be counter-intuitive more generally.If we consider a pyramid in which the particular instances of daily living on the lowest level are clustered into ever fewer and more abstract categories up the pyramid, we can see that the clash between values and interests is a clash between different levels of abstraction.Interests are particular to an individual’s immediate situation whereas values are more collective, generic and constant. When these levels are in conflict what is experienced individually is incompatible with what is believed or valued collectively. In adversity the first sacrifice is complexity. The simplicity of abstract categories channels our arousal, providing relief from a sense of helplessness and feeling overwhelmed. Like revellers at soccer matches or believers at religious meetings with easy binary choic...
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