Distributive Unfairness, National Pride, and Willingness to Fight: Evidence From Taiwan

Abstract

How does income distribution affect citizens’ willingness to defend their country? In this article, I argue that perceived unfair income distribution reduces citizens’ attachment to their country and inhibits their willingness to fight. Using mediation analysis with data collected by the World Values Survey in Taiwan in 2019, I find that perceived distributive unfairness reduces non-rich citizens’ willingness to fight for their country via dampening their national pride, a key element in psychological attachment to national identity. This finding suggests that distributive unfairness threatens national security and contributes to the literature on the perils of economic inequality.