The Political Psychology of Inequality and Why It Matters for Populism

Abstract

Integrating research from political science, psychology, and related fields, this article analyzes the complex web of relationships and pathways connecting economic inequality to populism. What emerges is an original theoretical framework for understanding populist support, which distinguishes between levels of analysis and considers how economic and cultural influences interact (rather than placing them at odds). It also emphasizes the important distinction between reality and perception and its role in understanding how citizens react differently to the same macrolevel trends and environmental threats. Careful analysis of the existing scholarship suggests that economic stratification exerts an indirect influence on populist support. Inequality likely shapes populist beliefs through macrolevel mediators such as economic dysfunction, rising political polarization, and a decline in the quality of government. Also, several potential individual-level influences mediate the relationship, including heightened sense of intergroup threat, political distrust, status anxiety, and perceptions of system unfairness. This article’s theoretical framework also explores how community environment and relevant personality characteristics like right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation may moderate important associations.