Political Participation
Introduction
The political participation in many countries is a voluntary activity where citizens have the right to choose whether to participate or not. The political equality and the political participation are both the basic ideals that characterize democracy. However, it is important various studies have shown that there occurs class bias in the political participation. This bias in the political participation has been associated with factors such as socioeconomic difference among the members of the community. This essay therefore presents some of the evidence to support the idea that there is a class bias in the political participation and voting.
Socioeconomic difference in the society is one of the leading causes of class bias in political participation. In relation to this it has been established that most of the people with a higher socioeconomic are more likely to participate in politics. This class bias on the basis of the socioeconomic is also evident in the voter turnout. According to Riker and Ordeshook political participation can be termed as calculus voting (Leighley, 118). In this case the citizen usually decides to vote based on the individual cost- benefit analysis where one first weighs the cost of participating against the expected benefit. This therefore implies that most of the rich people will tend to participate in the electro process as compared to the middle-income earners since they stand to benefit. This type of bias has been evident in most of the election in United States where the rich people participate more compared to the middle-income people (Neckerman, 724). However, this bias has led to certain segments in the society possessing greater political voice. In addition this type of bias also leads to unequal democratic participation.
Moreover, level of education is also another aspect that can lead to class bias with regard to political participation. In this case, the higher the rate of schooling the individual has the more likely that one can register as a voter and vote for presidential elections. This is because many people who are educated usually understand the importance of voting or taking part in the politics. On the other hand the uneducated people are less likely to take part in the voting process since they do not understand the importance of taking part in a politics. In addition, most of the people with low education standard also do not understand the various policies as presented by candidates in general election. This in turn makes such people to be less interested in the voting process.
According to Steven and Hasten the bias in the political participation is also associated with the type of decision made by the political parties during campaigns (Levi, 20). This is because most of the political parties usually use the strategy where the first they target to convince the elite population on the various issues that they wish to implement once they are elected. This failure in the political parties to involve all the people in their campaign strategies therefore leads to difference in the participation in the electro process.
From the above it is evident that the social economic difference in the society remains as the most the profound cause of bias with regard to political participation. This therefore implies that an increase in the economic inequality in a country may lead to increase in an increase in the class bias towards the political participation. Various countries should therefore ensure that they are eradicate socioeconomic inequality to ensure that there is equal participation of the in politics and voting.
Works cited
Leighley, J. E. (2010). The Oxford handbook of American elections and political behavior. New York, NY, Oxford University Press.
Levi, M. (2008). Designing democratic government: making institutions work. New York, Russell Sage Foundation.
Neckerman, K. M. (2004). Social inequality. New York, NY, Russell Sage.
Welch, S. (2012). Understanding American government. Boston, MA, Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.
