ABSTRACT

Th e role of class in American politics eludes and puzzles us. Th ere is no agreement on what class means, how to measure it, or whether it matters in politics. Th e only area of agreement seems to be that the extent of class political divisions should be measured by how much individuals of diff erent classes vary in their partisan opinions or behavior. But there is little agreement on how to defi ne class and classify individuals. Th e diff ering defi nitions and measures of class result in disagreements about whether class is a signifi cant source of political divisions. Some use self-defi nition and fi nd class divisions declining. Others use some combination of income, education, and occupation and reach mixed conclusions, with many fi nding class of declining relevance. Some use relative position in income distribution and fi nd class divisions growing. Others use absolute levels of income and argue class is of diminishing relevance. To complicate matters more, some argue that Americans have moved beyond class concerns and that the real issues are racial and cultural. Th e diversity of approaches and claims about the political relevance of class divisions is confusing.