The Neurological Bridge: How Cognitive Overload Connects Economic Precarity to Political Extremism

AbstractA robust body of political science literature demonstrates a strong correlation between economic precarity and support for extremist, populist, and authoritarian politics. However, the precise psychological and biological mechanisms driving this link remain undertheorized. This paper bridges this gap by proposing a novel explanatory framework grounded in neuroscience: the Cognitive Overload Model of Political Extremism. We argue that chronic stress—originating from sources including, but not limited to, economic insecurity—functions as a significant cognitive load, impairing the executive functions of the prefrontal cortex while amplifying the threat-response activity of the amygdala. This neurological shift creates a powerful, biologically-driven bias toward simplistic, low-effort, and high-reward ideologies.Crucially, this paper argues that the manifestation of this neurobiological vulnerability is not deterministic. It is heavily moderated by an individual's informational environment and social context. We further posit that ideology is not merely an outcome but part of a dynamic feedback loop with social pressures. After synthesizing the existing empirical data and detailing the core neurobiological model, this paper explores these complexities to account for phenomena such as the affluent extremist and the resilient poor. We conclude by outlining a next-generation research program designed to test this more nuanced, interactive model, offering a clear path forward for a new agenda in political psychology and neuro-politics.Keywords: Political Polarization, Neuro-politics, Cognitive Overload, Economic Precarity, Political Psychology, Stress, Authoritarianism, Populism, Social Media.