More than self‐interest: Why different classes have different attitudes to income inequality. (6th March 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Langsæther, Peter Egge; Evans, Geoffrey
• Is Part Of: British journal of sociology. Volume 71:Number 4(2020)
• Page Start: 594
• Page End: 607
• Publication Date: 2020-03-06
• Subjects: EGP -- mechanisms -- redistributive preferences -- self‐interest -- social class; Sociology -- Periodicals; 301.05
• DOI: 10.1111/1468-4446.12747
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0007-1315

Abstract

Abstract: The connection between social class and political preferences is among the most well established in the social sciences. This association is typically taken as prima facie evidence of economic self‐interest: Classes hold different attitudes, values, and party preferences because they have different economic interests. However, this assumption has rarely been tested empirically. In this article, we use survey data from 18 West European countries to examine why classes differ on a central aspect of political preferences, namely their views on the desirability of income inequality. We find that only a moderate proportion of differences between employee classes in support for redistribution can be accounted for by contemporary differences in resources and risks; differences in economic interests to some degree account for the anti‐redistributive preferences of the professional middle classes compared with the working class. However, the preferences of the self‐employed have a different explanation; autonomy is a better explanation of the right‐wing preferences of the self‐employed compared with the working class.