Unequal Democracy or Philanthrocapitalism

Unequal Democracy: The Political Economy of the New Gilded Age

Author: Larry M Bartels

Unequal Democracy debunks many myths about politics in contemporary America, using the widening gap between the rich and the poor to shed disturbing light on the workings of American democracy. Larry Bartels shows that increasing inequality is not simply the result of economic forces, but the product of broad-reaching policy choices in a political system dominated by partisan ideologies and the interests of the wealthy.

Bartels demonstrates that elected officials respond to the views of affluent constituents but ignore the views of poor people. He shows that Republican presidents in particular have consistently produced much less income growth for middle-class and working-poor families than for affluent families, greatly increasing inequality. He provides revealing case studies of key policy shifts contributing to inequality, including the massive Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 and the erosion of the minimum wage. Finally, he challenges conventional explanations for why many voters seem to vote against their own economic interests, contending that working-class voters have not been lured into the Republican camp by "values issues" like abortion and gay marriage, as commonly believed, but that Republican presidents have been remarkably successful in timing income growth to cater to short-sighted voters.

Unequal Democracy is social science at its very best. It provides a deep and searching analysis of the political causes and consequences of America's growing income gap, and a sobering assessment of the capacity of the American political system to live up to its democratic ideals.

The Washington Post - Dan Balz

…a provocative new book by Princeton professor Larry M. Bartels, one of the country's leading political scientists.

Table of Contents:

Preface     ix
The New Gilded Age     1
Escalating Economic Inequality     6
Interpreting Inequality     13
Economic Inequality as a Political Issue     19
Inequality and American Democracy     23
The Partisan Political Economy     29
Partisan Patterns of Income Growth     31
A Partisan Coincidence?     34
Partisan Differences in Macroeconomic Policy     42
Macroeconomic Performance and Income Growth     47
Partisan Policies and Post-Tax Income Growth     54
Democrats, Republicans, and the Rise of Inequality     61
Class Politics and Partisan Change     64
In Search of the Working Class     66
Has the White Working Class Abandoned the Democratic Party?     72
Have Working-Class Whites Become More Conservative?     78
Do "Moral Values" Trump Economics?     83
Are Religious Voters Distracted from Economic Issues?     90
Class Politics, Alive and Well     93
Partisan Biases in Economic Accountability     98
Myopic Voters     99
The Political Timing of Income Growth     104
Class Biases in Economic Voting     110
The Wealthy GiveSomething Back: Partisan Biases in Campaign Spending     116
Political Consequences of Biased Accountability     120
Do Americans Care about Inequality?     127
Egalitarian Values     130
Rich and Poor     136
Perceptions of Inequality     143
Facts and Values in the Realm of Inequality     148
Homer Gets a Tax Cut     162
The Bush Tax Cuts     164
Public Support for the Tax Cuts     170
Unenlightened Self-Interest     176
The Impact of Political Information     181
Chump Change     186
Into the Sunset     193
The Strange Appeal of Estate Tax Repeal     197
Public Support for Estate Tax Repeal     198
Is Public Support for Repeal a Product of Misinformation?     205
Did Interest Groups Manufacture Public Antipathy to the Estate Tax?     214
Elite Ideology and the Politics of Estate Tax Repeal     217
The Eroding Minimum Wage     223
The Economic Effects of the Minimum Wage     227
Public Support for the Minimum Wage     229
The Politics of Inaction     232
Democrats, Unions, and the Eroding Minimum Wage     239
The Earned Income Tax Credit     246
Reversing the Tide     247
Economic Inequality and Political Representation     252
Ideological Representation     254
Unequal Responsiveness     257
Unequal Responsiveness on Social Issues: The Case of Abortion     265
Partisan Differences in Representation     267
Why Are the Poor Unrepresented?     275
Unequal Democracy     283
Who Governs?     285
Partisan Politics and the "Have-Nots"     288
Political Obstacles to Economic Equality     294
The City of Utmost Necessity     298
Selected References     305
Index     317

Look this:

Philanthrocapitalism: How the Rich are Trying to Save the World

Author: Matthew Bishop

An examination of how today’s leading philanthropists are revolutionizing the field, using new methods to have a vastly greater impact on the world. For philanthropists of the past, charity was often a matter of simply giving money away. For the philanthrocapitalists – the new generation of billionaires who are reshaping the way they give – it’s like business. Largely trained in the corporate world, these “social investors” are using big-business-style strategies and expecting results and accountability to match. Bill Gates, the world's richest man, is leading the way: he has promised his entire fortune to finding a cure for the diseases that kill millions of children in the poorest countries in the world.  In Philanthrocapitalism, Matthew Bishop and Michael Green examine this new movement and its implications. Proceeding from interviews with some of the most powerful people on the planet—including Gates, Bill Clinton, George Soros, Angelina Jolie, and Bono, among others—they show how a web of wealthy, motivated donors has set out to change the world. Their results will have huge implications: In a climate resistant to government spending on social causes, their focused donations may be the greatest force for societal change in our world, and a source of political controversy. Combining on-the-ground anecdotes, expert analysis, and up-close profiles of the wealthy and powerful, this is a fascinating look at a small group of people who will change an enormous number of lives.