Page 367 - Essencials of Sociology

340 Chapter 11 politics and the economy

Third Parties. Third parties sometimes play a role in U.S.
politics, but, to gain power, they must also support these centrist
From The Wall Street Journal, permission Cartoon Features Syndicate
themes. Any party that advocates radical change is doomed to
a short life. Because most Americans consider votes for them as
wasted, third parties do not do well at the polls. Two exceptions
are the Bull Moose party, whose candidate, Theodore Roosevelt,
won more votes in 1912 than William Howard Taft, the Repub-
lican presidential candidate, and the United We Stand (Reform)
party, founded by billionaire Ross Perot, which won 19 percent
of the vote in 1992. Amidst internal bickering, the Reform Party
declined rapidly and fell off the political map (Bridgwater 1953;
Statistical Abstract 1995:Table 437; 2013:Table 411).
Voting Patterns

Year after year, Americans show consistent voting patterns. From
Table 11.1 on the next page, you can see how the percentage of
people who vote increases with age. This table also shows how
significant race–ethnicity is. Although African Americans are less
likely to vote than non-Hispanic whites, when Barack Obama
ran for president, African Americans voted at higher rates than
whites. You can also see that both whites and African Americans
are much more likely to vote than are Latinos and Asian Americans.
Watch on MySocLab Look at education on Table 11.1. Notice how voting increases with each level of edu-
Video: Democracy: Those Who cation. Education is so significant that college graduates are twice as likely to vote as are
Don’t Participate
high school dropouts. You can also see how much more likely the employed are to vote.
And look at how powerful income is in determining voting. At each higher income level,
people are more likely to vote. Finally, note that women are more likely than men to vote.
Social Integration. How can we explain these voting patterns? It is useful to look at
the extremes. You can see from this table that those who are most likely to vote are the
older, more educated, affluent, and employed. Those who are least likely to vote are
the younger, less educated, poor, and unemployed. From these extremes, we can draw
this principle: The more that people feel they have a stake in the political system, the
more likely they are to vote. They have more to protect, and they feel that voting can
make a difference. In effect, people who have been rewarded more by the political and
economic system feel more socially integrated. They vote because they perceive that
elections make a difference in their lives, including the type of society in which they and
their children live.
Alienation. In contrast, those who gain less from the system—in terms of education,
income, and jobs—are more likely to feel alienated from politics. Perceiving themselves
as outsiders, many feel hostile toward the government. Some feel betrayed, believing
that politicians have sold out to special-interest groups. They ask, “How can you tell
when politicians are lying?” and reply, “When you see their lips moving.”

Apathy. But we must go beyond this. From Table 11.1, you can see that many highly
educated people with good incomes also stay away from the polls. They are not alien-
ated, but many do not vote because of voter apathy, or indifference. Their view is that
“next year will just bring more of the same, regardless of who is in office.” A common
attitude of those who are apathetic is “What difference will my one vote make when
there are millions of voters?” Many also see little difference between the two major
political parties. Only about half of the nation’s eligible voters cast ballots in presidential
elections (Statistical Abstract 2013:Table 406).
The Gender and Racial–Ethnic Gaps in Voting. Historically, men and women voted
the same way, but now we have a political gender gap. That is, men and women are
somewhat more likely to vote for different presidential candidates. As you can see from
Table 11.2 on page 342, men are more likely to favor the Republican candidate, while