Debating the American Dream is now available!
www.russellsage.org/publications/debating-american-dream
25% off discount code: SUHAY
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The book draws on decades of party platforms and public opinion survey data to explore the close connections between Americans' beliefs about the causes of socioeconomic inequality and party politics. I argue that Democratic and Republican party leaders craft and disseminate distinct economic narratives meant to justify their partisan policy agendas: Republican elites claim the American Dream is alive and well, justifying limited social welfare spending, whereas Democratic elites argue structural barriers hold many people back, justifying greater redistribution. Members of the public follow suit, sorting into "American Dream believers" and "American Dream skeptics" not because of income, race, or sex but, rather, due to party allegiance. Debating the American Dream helps us to understand why members of the two party coalitions disagree so vehemently over policy while both believing they have Americans’ best interests in mind.
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Blurbs from some of my favorite political scientists:
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“Debating the American Dream offers our most broadly satisfying account of Americans’ differing beliefs about economic inequality and the competing policy preferences that follow from them. Most importantly, it brings the country’s cultural ideals down from the clouds to engage with the realities of partisan politics. The book also offers valuable new takes on race, sex, and ideology in American politics. I expect it to be quickly recognized as a landmark contribution.”
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—JOHN ZALLER, professor emeritus of political science, University of California, Los Angeles
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“This is an all-around fabulous assessment of the place of the American Dream in American politics. It is truly a political analysis, because we get the history of the way parties and politicians have used the American Dream, as well as a thorough and nuanced investigation of when and how this rhetoric shows up in the thoughts of members of the public. Debating the American Dream is an indispensable tool for understanding the role of perceptions about inequality and mobility in contemporary U.S. politics.”
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—KATHERINE CRAMER, Natalie C. Holton Chair of Letters and Science and Virginia Sapiro Professor of Political Science, University of Wisconsin–Madison
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“In this powerful book, Elizabeth Suhay shows us how a key element of our shared national mindset—belief in the American Dream of inclusive economic opportunity—got swept up in the partisan polarization of the twenty-first century. Democrats and Republicans now disagree vehemently, not only about preferred economic policies, but also about the nature of economic reality. Debating the American Dream is a story with big implications for both political psychology and public policy.”
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—LARRY M. BARTELS, University Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Law and May Werthan Shayne Chair of Public Policy and Social Science, Vanderbilt University
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