Where I Stand and What I Stand For. Subjective Social Status and Attitudes Towards Redistribution

Abstract

The influence of social position on political attitudes is well established in con- temporary literature. We analyze the relevance of the subjective aspects of social stratification in shaping attitudes towards redistribution in thirteen Western Euro- pean countries, Australia, and the USA. We use ISSP data covering twenty years. Results show that individuals with lower subjective position display higher support for redistribution and perception of income inequality. Exploiting the longitudinal nature of the contextual data, we also analyze the role of structural inequalities and their variation. In countries with higher income inequalities, high subjective position individuals show higher support for redistributive policies, which are con- sidered too high. This suggests that individuals who feel they are above the majority of the population, regardless of this high consideration, still perceive material and economic insecurity, and display redistributive attitudes in line with the rest of the population in countries with high inequalities. This has considerable political im- plications, as it illuminates why individuals with high status tend to vote for radical parties in Southern European countries. The results have broader implications, sug- gesting that an approach to social stratification that considers both subjective and objective aspects allows to better clarify support for redistribution.