ABSTRACT
The economic restructuring that characterizes modem capitalism has had profound effects on the social and political structure of society, the spatial structure of cities, and the relationship between them. Attempts to account for these changes have stimulated, if not demanded, the use of theoretic frameworks that more explicitly attempt to interpret urban phenomena through an understanding of the deeper structures of society in which diverse spheres of activity are woven together (Johnston, 1984). Thus this chapter seeks to broaden our understanding of one important urban phenomenon, electoral behaviour, by grounding it firmly in the context of materialist theories of social change. Specifically, following Katznelson (1981), we shall focus on the divergence between production relations (and the politics of the workplace) and consumption relations (and the politics of the home) that characterizes if not distinguishes the American social and political landscape. In particular we will attempt to show how political interests rooted in the politics of consumption shape the nature and outcome of electoral issues differently from political interests rooted in the historic coalition of partisan and production politics.
