The Unheavenly Chorus: Unequal Political Voice and the Broken Promise of American Democracy

726 Pages·2012·4.575 MB·English

by  Kay Lehman Schlozman, Sidney Verba, Henry E. Brady

THE UNHEAVENLY CHORUS
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THE
UNHEAVENLY
CHORUS
Unequal Political Voice and
the Broken Promise
of American Democracy
KAY LEHMAN SCHLOZMAN
SIDNEY VERBA
HENRY E. BRADY
Princeton University Press
Princeton and Oxford
Copyright © 2012 by Princeton University Press
Published by Princeton University Press,
41 William Street, Princeton, New Jersey 08540
In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press,
6 Oxford Street, Woodstock, Oxfordshire OX20 1TW
press.princeton.edu
All Rights Reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Schlozman, Kay Lehman, 1946–
Th e unheavenly chorus : unequal political voice and the broken promise of
American democracy / Kay Lehman Schlozman, Sidney Verba, Henry E. Brady.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-0-691-15484-8 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Political participation—United States. 2. Equality—United States.
3. Pressure groups—United States. 4. Democracy—United States. I. Verba,
Sidney. II. Brady, Henry E. III. Title.
JK1764.S365 2012
323′.0420973—dc23 2012001822
British Library Cataloging-i n-P ublication Data is available
Th is book has been composed in Minion Pro with Quadraat
display by Princeton Editorial Associates Inc., Scottsdale, Arizona
Printed on acid-f ree paper. ∞
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To our many students, then and now—
with whom we feel a deep connection;
to whom we hope we have given a richer understanding
of democratic equality;
from whom we know we have learned.
Th e fl aw in the pluralist heaven is that the heavenly chorus sings with a
strong upper-c lass accent.
E. E. Schattschneider, Th e Semisovereign People
No government is legitimate if it does not show equal concern for the
fate of those citizens over whom it claims dominion.
Ronald Dworkin, Sovereign Virtue:
Th e Th eory and Practice of Equality
When you are in the legislature, it can be hard to distinguish the loud
from the many.
Maggie Wood Hassan, former state senator, New Hampshire
If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.
Washington adage
“What are you complaining about? It’s a level playing fi eld.”
© Charles Barsotti / Th e New Yorker Collection / www.cartoonbank.com.
CONTENTS
List of Figures ix
List of Tables xiii
Preface xvii
Acknowledgments xxv
1. Introduction: Democracy and Political Voice 1
part i
Th inking about Inequality and Political Voice
2. Th e (Ambivalent) Tradition of Equality in America 31
3. Th e Context: Growing Economic Inequality and
Weakening Unions 69
4. Equal Voice and the Dilemmas of Democracy 96
part ii
Inequality of Political Voice and Individual Participation
5. Does Unequal Voice Matter? 117
6. Th e Persistence of Unequal Voice 147
7. U nequal at the Starting Line: Th e Intergenerational Persistence
of Political Inequality with Nancy Burns 177
8. P olitical Participation over the Life Cycle with Jennifer
Erkulwater 199
vii
viii Contents
9. P olitical Activism and Electoral Democracy: Perspectives
on Economic Inequality and Political Polarization 232
part iii
Inequality of Political Voice and Organized Interest Activity
1 0. Political Voice through Organized Interests: Introductory
Matters 265
11. W ho Sings in the Heavenly Chorus? Th e Shape of the Organized
Interest System with Traci Burch and Philip Edward Jones 312
12. Th e Changing Pressure Community 347
13. Beyond Organizational Categories 370
1 4. P olitical Voice through Organized Interest Activity with
Philip Edward Jones and Traci Burch 393
part iv
Can We Change the Accent of the Unheavenly Chorus?
1 5. Breaking the Pattern through Political Recruitment 447
1 6. W eapon of the Strong? Participatory Inequality and
the Internet 483
1 7. What, if Anything, Is to Be Done? with Shauna Shames 534
1 8. Conclusion: Equal Voice and the Promise of American
Democracy 574
appendixes
Appendix A: Equality and the State and U.S. Constitutions 605
Appendix B: Th e Persistence of Political and Nonpolitical
Activity 608
Appendix C: Th e Intergenerational Transmission of Political
Participation 616
Appendix D: Age, Period, and Cohort Eff ects 619
Appendix E: Th e Washington Representatives Database 621
Appendix F: Additional Tables 645
Appendix G: Do Online and Offl ine Political Activists Diff er
from One Another? 649
Index 655
FIGURES
Figure 1.1 Th e Continuing Stratifi cation of Political Participation 8
Figure 1.2 Distribution of Political Inputs 15
Figure 5.1 Political Activities by SES Quintile 124
Figure 5.2 Active in Campaigns—D onating, Attending Meetings,
and Working by SES Percentile 125
Figure 5.3 Voting and Active beyond the Vote in Local and National
Politics by SES Quintile 134
Figure 5.4 Political Voice and Political Engagement by SES
Quintile 136
Figure 5.5 Political Activity by Gender and SES Quintile 138
Figure 5.6 Political Activity for Blacks, Latinos, and Anglo Whites
by SES Quintile 139
Figure 6.1 Voting over Time for SES Quintiles, 1952–2 008 153
Figure 6.2 Ratio of Percentage Voting, Highest to Lowest SES
Quintile over Time, 1952–2 008 155
Figure 6.3 Persistence of Stratifi cation of Campaign Activity 158
Figure 6.4 Ratio of Number of Campaign Acts over Time for
Highest to Lowest SES Quintile, 1952–2 008 159
Figure 6.5 Giving Money in Campaigns over Time for SES
Quintiles, 1952–2 008 159
Figure 6.6 Campaign Activity in Two Eras 161
Figure 6.7 Political Activity (Mean Number of Four Political Acts)
over Time for SES Quintiles, 1973–2 002 163
ix