Class Attitudes in America: Sympathy For The Poor, Resentment Of The Rich, And Political Implications

Synopsis

This book explains a long-standing puzzle in American politics: why so many Americans support downwardly redistributive social welfare programs, when such support seems to fly in the face of standard conceptions of the American public as anti-government, individualistic, and racially prejudiced.

Bringing class attitudes into the analysis, Spencer Piston demonstrates through rigorous empirical analysis that sympathy for the poor and resentment of the rich explain American support for downwardly redistributive programs - not only those that benefit the middle class, but also those that explicitly target the poor. The book captures an important and neglected component of citizen attitudes toward a host of major public policies and candidate evaluations. It also explains why government does so little to combat economic inequality; in key instances, political elites downplay class considerations, deactivating sympathy for the poor and resentment of the rich.

Corrects widely held myths about how Americans think about class groups.

Uncovers an important and neglected determinant of public opinion and political behavior.

Draws on rich empirical data, including open-ended surveys that take ordinary people on their own terms to show the words people actually use when talking about politics.

Copyright:

2018

Book Details

Book Quality:

Publisher Quality

ISBN-13:

9781108668279

Related ISBNs:

9781108426985, 9781108426985

Publisher:

Cambridge University Press

Date of Addition:

06/16/18

Copyrighted By:

Spencer Piston

Adult content:

No

Language:

English

Has Image Descriptions:

No

Categories:

Social Studies, Politics and Government

Submitted By:

Bookshare Staff

Usage Restrictions:

This is a copyrighted book.