Political Inequality in Rich Democracies

Abstract

In this review, we focus on political inequality in rich democracies. In the two main sections, we look at participation and representation, respectively. The former discusses whether rising income inequality and the weakening of trade unions have led to higher levels of inequality in participation. The latter looks at substantive and descriptive representation and asks how they might be linked. Research highlights that people with fewer individual resources participate much less than those with more resources, and collective organizations lose their ability to counter these trends. In terms of representation, the pattern is very similar. Not only are the opinions of decision-makers more congruent with those of the better off but policy choices also reflect their preferences more clearly. As the social distance between rulers and ruled increases, representative democracy gets more biased in favor of higher-status social groups. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Political Science, Volume 26 is June 2023. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Do the rich ditch traditional politics? Evidence from Sweden

“…In fact, many political scientists worry today that the wealthy have too much influence over the political process because policies tend to benefit the well-off rather than the poor, and elected representatives often come from more affluent households (Bartels 2018;Carnes 2018;Elsässer and Schäfer 2023;Gilens and Page 2014;Hacker and Pierson 2010). We hope that this study will shed light on some of the mechanisms behind this pattern.…”

“…Accordingly, we should generally expect a disproportionate influence on politics by the wealthy (Elsässer and Schäfer 2023;Peters and Ensink 2015;Traber et al 2022). The common underlying theme of these accounts, however, is that it really is the wealth of these individuals that drive their increased interest in participating in politics.…”

Legal Foundations of Economic Inequality in the Time Loop of Law and Economics Movement

“…This separation between direct democracy at the level of sovereignty and representation at the level of government means that the source of ultimate constitutional authority in a democracy -the people -will often be "asleep" (Hobbes) for long spells, with brief constitutional law making when awake. This constitutional separation restricts people from conveniently altering the long-established ingrained legal structure underlying capitalistic order, the persistent cause of inequality r>g. The division of public/private attempts to keep the economic system free from general control (Elsässer & Schäfer, 2023;Milner, 2021). Conversely, sovereign/government separation attempts constitutional protection to contracts and property recognised by the sovereign but with limited possibilities to amend.…”

The ISSP 2019 Social Inequality Module: Country-Comparative Individual-Level Data on Public Beliefs about Inequality and Socioeconomic Conditions Over Three Decades

“…Influential studies suggest that actual policymaking is disproportionally responsive to the preferences of more socioeconomically resourceful citizens (Gilens 2012;Elsässer and Schäfer 2023;Persson and Sundell 2023; but see also Elkjaer and Iversen 2020). Some segments of the population, often located towards the lower end of the socio-economic hierarchy, may thus feel excluded and frustrated with how governments are seemingly unwilling and/or ineffective in dealing with pressing insecurities and inequalities.…”