Carrot and stick
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The phrase "carrot and stick" is a metaphor for when two different methods of incentivisation are simultaneously employed; the "carrot", referring to the promising and giving of desired rewards in exchange for cooperation; and the "stick", referring to the threat of undesired consequences in response to noncompliance or to compel compliance.[1] In politics, the terms are respectively analogous to the concepts of soft and hard power. A political example of a carrot may be the promise of foreign aid or military support, while the stick may be the threat of military action or imposition of economic sanctions.
Origin
The earliest English-language references to the "carrot and stick" come from authors in the mid-19th century who in turn wrote in reference to a caricature or cartoon of the time that depicted a race between donkey riders, with the losing jockey using the strategy of beating his steed with "blackthorn twigs" to urge it forward; meanwhile, the winner of the race has tied a carrot to the end of his stick and simply sits in his saddle relaxing and dangling the carrot in front of his donkey.[2][3] In fact, in some oral traditions, turnips were used instead of carrots as the donkey's temptation.
Decades later, the idea appeared in a letter from Winston Churchill, dated July 6, 1938: "Thus, by every device from the stick to the carrot, the emaciated Austrian donkey is made to pull the Nazi barrow up an ever-steepening hill."[4]
The earliest uses of the idiom in widely available U.S. periodicals were in The Economist's December 11, 1948 issue and in a Daily Republic newspaper article that same year that discussed Russia's economy.[5]
In the German language, as well as Russian and Ukrainian, a related idiom translates as pastry and whip.
In Mexico, president and dictator Porfirio Diaz was known for his pan o palo (bread or stick) policy. While Diaz favored conciliation, he also saw the necessity of violence as an option, epitomized by his statement: "Five fingers or five bullets."[6]
See also
- Aversives, the use of unpleasant stimuli to change behavior
- Operant conditioning, the use of rewards and punishments to change behavior
- Throffer, a combination of a threat and an offer
References
External links
- EconPapers abstract for an experiment using this model "The Carrot or the Stick: Rewards, Punishments, and Cooperation"
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- ↑ Schell, William Jr., "Politics and Government: 1876–1910" in Encyclopedia of Mexico. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn 1997.