Political Parties and Political Participation: A Reexamination of the Standard Socioeconomic Model

Abstract

This paper examines conventional explanations as to why many lower status persons in the United States are less inclined than others to participate in politics. Such explanations typically treat lower status nonparticipation as the result of SES-related personality traits and therefore as an inevitable consequence of stratification. We present two lines of analysis. First, a review of comparative data suggests that such explanations ignore characteristics of U.S. political institutions—especially the programs and recruitment strategies employed by the major political parties—which are important sources of lower status political disinterest and nonparticipation. Second, in contrast to previous studies, we examine the effects of political party recruitment patterns on voting and campaign activity. Using the 1976 CPS election study, we find that: (1) voter contact by a political party or candidate increases the likelihood of voting and campaign activity, although it made no difference which party made the overture; (2) voter contact by the two major parties did not reduce the greater likelihood that high SES citizens would participate more in politics; and (3) the impact of contact was the same across social status and political party lines. The implications of these findings for theory and research on social class and political participation are discussed in the text.