Title : Titre : Resurrecting the (not so) dead? How social class is alive and well in voters’ minds also at the polling booth?

Abstract :

Since the 1990s it has become a widespread perception that social class is of decreasing relevance to citizens in advanced industrial democracies. This pertains to the social realm where classes are seen as fragmenting and losing their meaning to citizens. It also pertains to the political realm where the decline of class voting has (almost) decoupled class and party choice. Indeed, some authors go as far as to proclaiming the ‘death of class’ in both realms. Against this prevailing perspective, I argue – and show empirically – that the dismissal of class is premature. Thus, despite changes at the objective level, class remains a relevant category in citizens’ perceptions of society; they identify with and have a (partly) political consciousness based on class just as they categorize others into social classes much as would Sociologists. In the political realm, furthermore, these subjective aspects of class influence attitudes and party choice and political candidates are able to attract votes using appeals to classes. Class is, thus, alive and well both socially and politically.

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This series is sponsored by the Centre for the Study of Democratic Citizenship, which is funded by the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et culture (FRQSC).