Inequality Belief Systems: What They Look Like, How to Study Them, and Why They Matter

Abstract

This paper purports to enrich the burgeoning field of research on the content of people’s beliefs about inequality by studying the structure of these beliefs. We develop a theoretical and methodological framework that combines Correlational Class Analysis and Exploratory Graph Analysis, and we test it empirically with original survey data collected in the United States and the Netherlands (n = 2,501 and 1,618). Using CCA, we identify groups of individuals who share construals of inequality, while EGA allows us to model these structures as inequality belief systems, which are networks of perceptions, explanations and attitudes about inequality. Results reveal the presence of two distinct belief systems in each country. These systems exhibit structural differences and are related to different sociodemographic factors in the U.S. and the Netherlands. Moreover, we show that inequality belief systems are more socially patterned in the former country. Finally, we demonstrate that belief systems, in both countries, are associated with different levels of support for redistribution. We discuss the significance of our findings for the politics of inequality and stress that overlooking attitudinal structures impedes a full understanding of people’s views on inequality and their support for redistribution.