ABSTRACT
The findings warrant reopening classical debates over the political alignments of the "old" and "new" middle classes in post-industrial America. This chapter provides the analysis of middle-class politics by investigating the sources and internal differences in the partisan identification of the self-employed, professionals, and managers. It focuses on partisan identification, because partisanship constitutes the most enduring form of political affiliation, and one that is typically independent of the popularity of particular candidates. The chapter analyzes the independent variables and represents four types of mechanisms of middle class politics, relating to sociodemographic attributes; economic assessments; attitudes towards the state; and attitudes towards social issues. Small business owners and other self-employed persons constitute the "old" middle class. Many social scientists hypothesize that such pressures can elicit distinctive political attitudes and behavior. Some analysts have suggested that post-industrial capitalism is creating new openings for small entrepreneurs, especially in the less-proletarianized industrial sectors.
