Politicizing Inequality in Times of Sociocultural Conflict: How New Left and Far Right Voters Think About Inequality

Silja Häusermann, Tabea Palmtag, Delia Zollinger, Tarik Abou-Chadi, Stefanie Walter and Sarah Berkinshaw
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Silja Häusermann: University of Zurich
Tabea Palmtag: University of Zurich
Delia Zollinger: University of Zurich
Tarik Abou-Chadi: Nuffield College, University of Oxford
Stefanie Walter: University of Zurich
Sarah Berkinshaw: University of Zurich

Politics & Society, 2025, vol. 53, issue 4, 630-655

Abstract: The antagonism between far right and new left parties has transformed West European politics through increasing sociocultural conflict. We ask what this new cleavage implies for the politicization of inequalities. We contrast two diverging theoretical expectations. The first expects a tradeoff between sociocultural and socioeconomic inequalities, with new left voters emphasizing the former over the latter, and vice versa for far right voters. The second predicts a single dimension of inequality attitudes, from new left “universalists†being inequality averse to far right “particularists†being more inequality tolerant. Evidence based on survey data from Germany supports the second perspective. Even new left voters in the educated middle classes are more averse to all dimensions of inequality than (far) right voters. This implies that a successful new left agenda can simultaneously target various inequalities. However, in contexts of polarized party competition, divisive sociocultural conflicts may crowd out attention to traditional, less divisive socioeconomic inequalities.

Keywords: inequality; far right; new left; electoral politics; European politics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:polsoc:v:53:y:2025:i:4:p:630-655

DOI: 10.1177/00323292251353374

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