Status Inconsistency and Lower-Class Leftist Radicalism

Bibliographic Data

ID2275650
AuthorsA Portes (0000-0002-0864-878X, The University of Texas at Austin, corresponding author)
Year1972
Volume13
Issue3
Pages361-382
Publication date1972-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSociological Quarterly (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0038-0253 • E-ISSN: 1533-8525
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1533-8525.1972.tb00820.x
OpenAlexW2066383968
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited21

The hypothesis of status inconsistency predicts greater leftism as an interaction effect of discrepant status dimensions. Inconsistent individuals are objectively low in some dimensions and subjectively insecure in those where they hold a high position. Ensuing anxiety and frustration are likely to be translated into political opposition to the status quo. Though theoretically plausible, empirical investigations of the hypothesis report mixed results. Employing data collected among a sample of 382 lower-class Chilean slum dwellers, a new test of the hypothesis is conducted. Dummy-variable regressions are employed to isolate status additive effects on leftism from inconsistency interaction effects. Neither education-occupation nor education-income discrepancies are found to produce significant changes in the dependent variable. Identical results are obtained when age is controlled for. Limitations of these findings and their theoretical implications, as they add to a growing body of research, are discussed

Alternative hypothesis · Demographic economics · Econometrics · Economics · Left-wing politics · Null hypothesis · Opposition (politics) · Political radicalism · Political science · Politics · Positive economics · Status quo · Intergenerational and Educational Inequality Studies · Psychology · Social and Cultural Dynamics · Social Policy and Reform Studies · Social Psychology

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub