False Consciousness or Class Awareness? Local Income Inequality, Personal Economic Position, and Belief in American Meritocracy

• Published in: American journal of political science Vol. 59; no. 2; pp. 326 - 340
• Main Authors: Newman, Benjamin J., Johnston, Christopher D., Lown, Patrick L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-04-2015; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Citizens; Counties; Democracy; Economic research; Economic systems; Economic theory; Household income; Hypothesis; Income distribution; Income estimates; Income Inequality; Low income groups; Meritocracy; Polarization; Political ideologies; Political science; Public opinion; Research methods; Residents; Self interest; Social Class; Survey data
• ISSN: 0092-5853; 1540-5907
• DOI: 10.1111/ajps.12153

Existing research analyzes the effects of cross-national and temporal variation in income inequality on public opinion; however, research has failed to explore the impact of variation in inequality across citizens' local residential context. This article analyzes the impact of local inequality on citizens' belief in a core facet of the American ethos—meritocracy. We advance conditional effects hypotheses that collectively argue that the effect of residing in a high-inequality context will be moderated by individual income. Utilizing national survey data, we demonstrate that residing in more unequal counties heightens rejection of meritocracy among low-income residents and bolsters adherence among high-income residents. In relatively equal counties, we find no significant differences between high- and low-income citizens. We conclude by discussing the implications of class-based polarization found in response to local inequality with respect to current debates over the consequences of income inequality for American democracy.