The Issue of Our Time: Economic Inequality and Political Power in America
In: Perspectives on politics: a political science public sphere, Band 2, Heft 4, S. 683-689
ISSN: 1537-5927
A final commentary on the APSA Task Force on Inequality & American Democracy's report agrees that increasing economic inequality in the US is threatening democracy but argues that not enough consideration was given to the implications for public policy or inequities of race, ethnicity, gender, & place. The need for more analyses of interrelationships among demographic categories is emphasized, maintaining that understanding how race, ethnicity, & gender intersect with each other & with the growing class divide will shed light on the complex link between economic inequality & political power. Concern is expressed about the Task Force's treatment of race & class as discrete categories; its failure to address the growing diversity within America's racial & ethnic groups; & disregard of the gender gap's connection with rising class inequality. The need for a greater focus on the role of policies in rising inequality is discussed. The Task Force is applauded for ending the silence of political scientists on inequality & bringing the debate into the forefront. 33 References. J. Lindroth