A Tolerance for Inequality: American Public Opinion and Economic Policy

by Andrew J. Taylor

Overview

A nuanced reassessment of US democratic responsiveness and public opinion on economic policy that explores the real reasons government does not do more to mitigate inequality.

Many believe that the United States’ growing economic inequality is the result of a political system that has been captured by wealthy elites. But is economic capture actually the problem? In A Tolerance for Inequality, Andrew J. Taylor examines this question from multiple angles, drawing on public opinion data and analyses of representation in Congress. Taylor finds that economic policy outcomes are more reflective of public opinion than the common wisdom suggests.

Broadly, less-affluent Americans’ policy preferences are not meaningfully different from the preferences of other Americans, and Washington is responsive to these preferences. Although politicians are more affluent, on average, than most Americans, this does not prevent them from representing the economic views of their poorer constituents. Today’s Democratic Party is more interested in regulation and supplying public goods than redistributing wealth downwards, and political reforms designed to provide more equal outcomes are largely misguided. In short, Americans get the kind of economy they at least say they want.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780226843636
Publisher:	University of Chicago Press
Publication date:	09/29/2025
Series:	Chicago Studies in American Politics
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Andrew J. Taylor is professor of political science in the School of Public and International Affairs at North Carolina State University. His research focuses on American governmental institutions, and he is the author or coauthor of four books.

Table of Contents

List of Figures
List of Tables
Preface and Acknowledgments

1. Political Science and Economic Inequality
2. Public Opinion and Economic Policy: System Responsiveness and Attentiveness
3. Public Opinion and Economic Policy: Episodes and Issues
4. Less Affluent Americans’ Views of the Economy: Substance
5. Less Affluent Americans’ Views of the Economy: Clarity
6. Distribution and Less Affluent Americans’ Views of Politics
7. The Substantive Representation of Affluence: Apportionment and Effectiveness
8. The Substantive Representation of Affluence: A Dyadic Analysis
9. The Descriptive Representation of Affluence: Do Less Affluent Americans Care?
10. The Descriptive Representation of Affluence: Are Less Affluent Legislators Liberal and Effective?
11. Counterbalance? The Economic Policy Views of Educated and Professional Democrats
12. Political Science, American Democracy, and the Future of Inequality: Concluding Thoughts

Notes
References
Index

Editorial Reviews

A Tolerance for Inequality breaks new ground and makes a significant intellectual contribution by focusing on those areas where the connections between economic and political inequality are least established. Taylor evaluates claims about the role of inequality in American politics, countering the view that economic inequality leads to overwhelming political inequality. The result is a point-by-point examination that not only raises important qualifications but proposes valuable alternative interpretations.

Matt Grossmann | author of "How Social Science Got Better: Overcoming Bias with More Evidence

Drawing from decades of research on public opinion and public policy, Taylor challenges the conventional wisdom that American policymaking has a strong upper-class bias. Meticulously researched and carefully written, Taylor’s book reframes the debate on inequality in American politics. Just as importantly, it encourages political scientists to think deeply about how our own biases and preconceptions affect the questions that we ask and the answers that we find.

Christopher Ellis | Bucknell University