Abstract
Sociological research has not adequately assessed levels of support for redistributive policy among African Americans. This oversight is particularly notable considering the dispersion of blacks across the American class structure. This article seeks to fill this gap in our understanding by addressing two concerns: (a) whether blacks with higher versus lower socioeconomic status espouse disparate policy preferences and (b) whether a privileged class position matters in the same way in structuring black and white beliefs about the role of government. Results from pooled data from the 1996 through 2006 General Social Surveys indicate that blacks more strongly support government efforts to ameliorate inequality than whites. However, black policy preferences fluctuate after controlling for intraracial socioeconomic differences. Privileged blacks are less supportive of racially-neutral opportunity-enhancing and outcome-based policies; these same respondents espouse contrasting levels of support for racially- specific policies. The implications for these findings are discussed, as well as suggestions for future research.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 385-408 |
| Number of pages | 24 |
| Journal | Sociological Perspectives |
| Volume | 52 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Sep 2009 |
Fingerprint
Keywords
- African Americans
- Class
- Race
- Redistributive policy
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Sociology and Political Science
Cite this
Race, class, and the basis of group alignment : An analysis of support for redistributive policy among privileged blacks. / Shelton, Jason E.; Wilson, George.
In: Sociological Perspectives, Vol. 52, No. 3, 09.2009, p. 385-408.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Race, class, and the basis of group alignment
T2 - An analysis of support for redistributive policy among privileged blacks
AU - Shelton, Jason E.
AU - Wilson, George
PY - 2009/9
Y1 - 2009/9
N2 - Sociological research has not adequately assessed levels of support for redistributive policy among African Americans. This oversight is particularly notable considering the dispersion of blacks across the American class structure. This article seeks to fill this gap in our understanding by addressing two concerns: (a) whether blacks with higher versus lower socioeconomic status espouse disparate policy preferences and (b) whether a privileged class position matters in the same way in structuring black and white beliefs about the role of government. Results from pooled data from the 1996 through 2006 General Social Surveys indicate that blacks more strongly support government efforts to ameliorate inequality than whites. However, black policy preferences fluctuate after controlling for intraracial socioeconomic differences. Privileged blacks are less supportive of racially-neutral opportunity-enhancing and outcome-based policies; these same respondents espouse contrasting levels of support for racially- specific policies. The implications for these findings are discussed, as well as suggestions for future research.
AB - Sociological research has not adequately assessed levels of support for redistributive policy among African Americans. This oversight is particularly notable considering the dispersion of blacks across the American class structure. This article seeks to fill this gap in our understanding by addressing two concerns: (a) whether blacks with higher versus lower socioeconomic status espouse disparate policy preferences and (b) whether a privileged class position matters in the same way in structuring black and white beliefs about the role of government. Results from pooled data from the 1996 through 2006 General Social Surveys indicate that blacks more strongly support government efforts to ameliorate inequality than whites. However, black policy preferences fluctuate after controlling for intraracial socioeconomic differences. Privileged blacks are less supportive of racially-neutral opportunity-enhancing and outcome-based policies; these same respondents espouse contrasting levels of support for racially- specific policies. The implications for these findings are discussed, as well as suggestions for future research.
KW - African Americans
KW - Class
KW - Race
KW - Redistributive policy
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=73349136569&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=73349136569&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1525/sop.2009.52.3.385
DO - 10.1525/sop.2009.52.3.385
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:73349136569
VL - 52
SP - 385
EP - 408
JO - Sociological Perspectives
JF - Sociological Perspectives
SN - 0731-1214
IS - 3
ER -