Abstract
This paper tests two competing theories of status polarization of social welfare attitudes. One theory, which can broadly be termedsocial-psychological, sees status polarization as a function of identification with social groups. The other, which can be termedeconomic, sees policy preferences as a function of the individual's expected utility from various policies. Using CPS data for the years 1956–1984, we find that the utility maximizing hypothesis has much more explanatory power for the middle and late 1970s. Social class identification, on the other hand, rivals utility maximization as an explanation of policy preferences during the years 1956–1964 and shows a slight resurgence in 1982 and 1984. These results suggest little prospect for a revival of the New Deal party coalitions, barring strong political leadership that defines issues in class terms and polarizes the electorate.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abramson, Paul R. (1975).Generational Change in American Politics. Lexington, Mass.: D.C. Heath.
Alford, Robert R. (1963).Party and Society. Chicago: Rand McNally.
Barry, Brian M. (1970).Sociologists, Economists and Democracy. London: Macmillan.
Bishop, George F. (1978). Effects of question wording and format on political attitude consistency.Public Opinion Quarterly 42(1, Spring).
Bishop, George F., Oldendick, Robert W., and Tuchfarber, Alfred J. (1982). Effects of presenting one versus two sides of an issue in survey questions.Public Opinion Quarterly 46(Spring):69–85.
Buchanan, James M., and Tullock, Gordon (1962).The Calculus of Consent. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
Campbell, Angus, Converse, Philip E., Miller, Warren E., and Stokes, Donald E. (1960).The American Voter. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Center for Political Studies (1979).A Continuity Guide to the American National Election Surveys of the Center for Political Studies. Ann Arbor: Institute for Social Research.
Centers, Richard (1949).The Psychology of Social Classes. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Converse, Philip E. (1958). The shifting role of class in political attitudes and behavior. In Eleanor E. Maccoby, Theodore M. Newcomb, and Eugene L. Hartley (eds.),Readings in Social Psychology (3rd ed.). New York: Holt.
Converse, Philip E. (1964). The nature of belief systems in mass publics. In David Apter (ed.)Ideology and Discontent. New York: The Free Press.
Dawson, Richard E. (1973).Public Opinion and Contemporary Disarray. New York: Harper and Row.
Downs, Anthony (1957).An Economic Theory of Democracy. New York: Harper.
Erikson, Robert S., Luttbeg, Norman R., and Tedin, Kent L. (1980).American Public Opinion (2nd ed.). New York: Wiley.
Fiorina, Morris P. (1977).Congress: Keystone of the Washington Establishment. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Glenn, Norval (1975). Class and party support in 1972.Public Opinion Quarterly, Spring.
Guest, Avery M. (1974). Class consciousness and American political attitudes.Social Forces 52(June):496–510.
Hanushek, Eric A., and Jackson, John E. (1977).Statistical Methods for Social Scientists. New York: Academic Press.
Hamilton, Rihard F. (1972).Class and Politics in the United States. New York: Wiley.
Harris, Louis (1973).The Anguish of Change. New York: Norton.
Jackman, Mary R. (1973). Education and prejudice or education and response-set?American Sociological Review 38(June):327–339.
Jackman, Mary R., and Jackman, Robert W. (1973). An interpretation of the relation between objective and subjective social status.American Sociological Review 38(October):569–582.
Key, V. O., Jr. (1961).Public Opinion and American Democracy. New York: Knopf.
Ladd, Everett Carll, Jr. (1976–1977). Liberalism upside down: the inversion of the New Deal class order.Political Science Quarterly 91(Winter):4
Ladd, Everett Carll, and Hadley, Charles D.Transformations of the American Party System (2nd ed.). New York: Norton.
Lipset, Seymour Martin (1960).Political Man. New York: Doubleday.
Lipset, Seymour Martin (1976). The wavering polls.The Public Interest, Spring.
Lubell, Samuel (1965).The Future of American Politics (3rd ed.). New York: Harper.
Nie, Norman H., Verba, Sidney, and Petrocik, John R. (1979).The Changing American Voter (Enlarged ed.). Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Olson, Mancur (1971).The Logic of Collective Action. Cambridge: Harvard.
Petrocik, John R. (1980). Contextual sources of voting behavior: the changeable American voter. In John C. Pierce and John L. Sullivan (eds.),The Electorate Reconsidered. Beverly Hills: Sage.
Rice, Tom W. (1985). An examination of the median voter hypothesis.Western Political Quarterly 38(June):211–223.
Samuelson, Paul A. (1967).Economics (7th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Scammon, Richard M., and Wattenberg, Ben J. (1970).The Real Majority. New York: Coward-McCann, Inc.
Schlozman, Kay L., and Verba, Sidney (1979).Injury to Insult. Cambridge: Harvard.
Schuman, Howard, and Presser, Stanley (1978). Question wording as an independent variable in survey analysis. In Duane F. Alwin (ed.),Survey Design and Analysis. Beverly Hills: Sage.
Sears, David O., Lau, Richard R., Tyler, Tom R., and Harris, M. Allen, Jr. (1980). Self-interest vs. symbolic politics in policy attitudes and presidential voting.American Political Science Review 74(3, September):670–684.
Stokey, Edith, and Zeckhauser, Richard (1978).A Primer for Policy Analysis. New York: Norton.
Sundquist, James L. (1973).Dynamics of the Party System. Washington: Brookings.
Trilling, Richard J. (1976).Party Image and Electoral Behavior. New York: John Wiley.
Vanneman, Reeve, and Pampel, Fred C. (1977). The American perception of class and status.American Sociological Review 42(June):422–437.
Weatherford, M. Stephen (1978). Economic conditions and electoral outcomes: class differences in the political response to recession.American Journal of Political Science 22(November):917–938.
Weatherford, M. Stephen (1983). Economic voting and the “symbolic politics” argument: a reinterpretation and synthesis.American Political Science Review 77(March):158–174.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
McAdams, J. Status polarization of social welfare attitudes. Polit Behav 8, 313–334 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00988435
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00988435