Tag: political inequality
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Elites care about inequality, but probably not in the way that you think
This is a guest post by Matias Lopez, Universidad Católica, Chile. Do the elite care about inequality? A survey of over 800 elites in six Latin American countries reveals that they acknowledge economic inequality as a problem, but see little incentive to reduce inequality. The elite from stronger and more stable democracies tend to be…
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The Nationalist Retrenchment Hypothesis
As populist nationalists push back on neoliberal arguments on globalization, we see a diminished power of international bodies who attempt to solve global problems. Where once there was the hope of global governance, there is now Trumpism, John Birch-ism, Bolsanaro-ism, Orban-ism, and other societal ills. A main cause of why nationalist retrenchment became so, well,…
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Five Problems with Measuring Political Inequality
Five reasons why measuring political inequality is difficult.
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What Is Political Inequality and How Unequal Are We?
We Know a lot about Economic Inequality When the Occupy Wall Street movement reached its heyday in the Autumn of 2011, spreading to cities all over the world, the protesters’ rallying cry was, “We are the 99 percent.” They hoped for political change, among other things, but “99” was mainly understood as a statement about…
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Do Newspapers Write about Democracy and Equality?
What is political inequality? Political inequality is both unequal influence over decisions made by political bodies and the unequal outcomes of those decisions. Political equality is “a fundamental premise of democracy” (quoting celebrated political theorist Robert Dahl). The news media has long reflected and shaped modern societies. In their pages we should expect that they present the…
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Notes on Winters and Page’s “Oligarchy in the U.S.?”
In this post, I summarize the article “Oligarchy in the U.S.,” by Winters and Page (2009). Winters and Page: Oligarchy in the USA Winters and Page (Hereafter, WP) argue that all modern democracies, regardless of level of democracy, can be oligarchies. Oligarchy and democracy can, and do, “coexist comfortably” (731). WP ask whether the U.S.…
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Political Inequality Sessions at International Sociological Association 2010
I organized a general theme on political inequality for RC 18: Political Sociology at the World Congress of the International Sociological Association 2010 in Gothenburg, Sweden. Here is a link to the RC18 website’s call for papers. General Theme: Political Inequality in Cross-National Perspective (Convener: Joshua Kjerulf Dubrow, Polish Academy of Sciences) Political inequality refers…
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Defining and Measuring Political Resources
What is the definition of political resources? The definition and measurement of political inequality requires a definition of political resources. Let’s start with a definition of political inequality. Political inequality is structured differences in political influence over government decisions, and the outcomes of those decisions. There are two main points about political resources: Are political resources…
Political Inequality: A blog since 2010 