Why are people hoarding toilet paper? | Hans Hacker | TEDxUAMonticello
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Hans Hacker |
TEDxUAMonticello
• March 2020
In the midst of the COVID-19/coronavirus pandemic, many grocery shelves are empty because of mass hoarding and panic buying. In this enlightening talk, political scientist Dr. Hacker explains that the problem is not incivility, but our social perspective. In this crisis, "winner take all" means taking all the toilet paper and supplies and leaving none for your neighbor. Framing the problem as types of games, he advocates abandoning the zero-sum mentality and adopting a collective attitude.
Dr. Hans J. Hacker is associate professor in the Department of Political Science at Arkansas State University where he teaches constitutional law and civil rights jurisprudence. His research has been the basis for two columns in the New York Times and a segment on CNN Newsroom with Poppy Harlow. His publications include Seasonal Effective Disorder: Clerk Training and the Success of Supreme Court certiorari Petitions (with William D. Blake and Shon R. Hopwood, Law & Society Review,2015), The Brooding Spirit of the Law (with William D. Blake, Justice Systems Journal, 2010), The Culture of Conservative Christian Litigation (Roman and Littlefield, 2005), and various articles and publications in the areas of constitutional law, law and society and public administration. Dr. Hacker’s current research focuses on innovative teaching techniques in undergraduate public law curricula, and the contrasting values of American Pragmatism and modern rights doctrines.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx