Unequal and unrepresented : political inequality and the people's voice in the new Gilded Age / Kay Lehman Schlozman, Henry E. Brady, Sidney Verba.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Schlozman, Kay Lehman, 1946- author.

Brady, Henry E., author.

Verba, Sidney, author.

Series:

Gale eBooks

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Political participation--United States.

Political participation.

Equality--United States.

Equality.

Democracy--United States.

Democracy.

Pressure groups--United States.

Pressure groups.

Representative government and representation--United States.

Representative government and representation.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xv, 330 pages)

Place of Publication:

Princeton : Princeton University Press, [2018]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

How American political participation is increasingly being shaped by citizens who wield more resourcesThe Declaration of Independence proclaims equality as a foundational American value. However, Unequal and Unrepresented finds that political voice in America is not only unequal but also unrepresentative. Those who are well educated and affluent carry megaphones. The less privileged speak in a whisper. Relying on three decades of research and an enormous wealth of information about politically active individuals and organizations, Kay Schlozman, Henry Brady, and Sidney Verba offer a concise synthesis and update of their groundbreaking work on political participation. The authors consider the many ways that citizens in American democracy can influence public outcomes through political voice: by voting, getting involved in campaigns, communicating directly with public officials, participating online or offline, acting alone and in organizations, and investing their time and money. Socioeconomic imbalances characterize every form of political voice, but the advantage to the advantaged is especially pronounced when it comes to any form of political expression--for example, lobbying legislators or making campaign donations-that relies on money as an input. With those at the top of the ladder increasingly able to spend lavishly in politics, political action anchored in financial investment weighs ever more heavily in what public officials hear. Citing real-life examples and examining inequalities from multiple perspectives, Unequal and Unrepresented shows how disparities in political voice endanger American democracy today.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction

PART I

What Do We Mean by Political Voice? Does Equal Voice Matter?

The Roots of Citizen Participation: The Civic Voluntarism Model

PART II

Who Exercises Political Voice?

The Noisy and the Silent: Divergent Preferences and Needs

Do Digital Technologies Make a Difference?

Social Movements and Ordinary Recruitment

PART III

Who Sings in the Heavenly Chorus? The Shape of the Organized Interest System

Representing Interests through Organizational Activity

PART IV

Growing Economic Inequality and Its (Partially) Political Roots

Has It Always Been This Way?

Can We Do Anything about It?

Unequal Voice in an Unequal Age

Notes

Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 23. Mai 2019)

ISBN:

9781400890361

1400890365

OCLC:

1031964143