Individualization and Tolerance for Inequality

Abstract

Chapter 2 deals with the question of why, over the past 25 years, scepticism of redistributive measures increased and why tolerance for inequality grew. Mau points to social-structural changes, in particular individualization and the middle class’s collective ascent which, together, brought forth increasing acceptance of inequality. After the Second World War, increased prosperity and upward social mobility became a formative experience for several cohorts. People experiencing upward mobility generally tend to ascribe this to their own individual success. Moreover, it is well-established that the social experience of upward mobility weakens egalitarian attitudes. Furthermore, Mau sees processes of individualization and the dissolution of collective identities as key factors driving the growing tolerance for inequalities. In an individualized society, patterns of attribution and interpretation of social inequalities change.