Class, partisanship and the great recession: the conflicting influences on attitudes towards inequality during economic crises.

Abstract

While some scholars suggest that critical attitudes towards inequality follow the class gradient during recessions, others find that classes are largely unresponsive. In this article, I consider how party affiliation interacts with class to shape perceptions of inequality during a recession. I argue that it is important to look at the interplay between class and partisanship to better understand individual views towards inequality during times of economic crises. Leveraging data from the International Social Survey Programme before and after The Great Recession, I find that the recession did not raise awareness of inequality across classes. This is because party affiliation moderates the relationship differently according to class. Specifically, party affiliation is more important in shaping the inequality views for the upper class and less so for the working class. Future research needs to consider the interplay between class and politics when exploring how inequality attitudes respond to economic crises.