Does Social Mobility Affect Political Behaviour?
DAVID L. WEAKLIEM Department of Sociology, Ballantine Hall, Indiana University Bloomington IN 47405, United States This paper considers the effects of social mobility on political behaviour. Several theoretical accounts suggest that the upwardly mobile adopt the behaviour typical of their destination while the downwardly mobile tend to retain the behaviour typical of their origin. This hypothesis is tested using data from the United States and Western Europe on voting behaviour and class identification. The paper applies and extends the diagonal mobility effects models developed by Sobel, which allow for several types of asymmetry. There is some evidence that the effectiveness of political socialization differs among classes, but these differences are not related to status. These results cast doubt on the claim that individual mobility favours the political right. Manuscript received: September 1, 1990. Revision received March 1, 1991. CiteULike Connotea Del.icio.us What’s this?
