Dangerously Divided: How Race and Class Shape Winning and Losing in American Politics

by Zoltan L Hajnal

As America has become more racially diverse and economic inequality has increased, American politics has also become more clearly divided by race and less clearly divided by class. In this landmark book, Zoltan L. Hajnal draws on sweeping data to assess the political impact of the two most significant demographic trends of last 50 years. Examining federal and local elections over many decades, as well as policy, Hajnal shows that race more than class or any other demographic factor shapes not only how Americans vote but also who wins and who loses when the votes are counted and policies are enacted. America has become a racial democracy, with non-Whites and especially African Americans regularly on the losing side. A close look at trends over time shows that these divisions are worsening, yet also reveals that electing Democrats to office can make democracy more even and ultimately reduce inequality in well-being.

Genres: Politics, Political Science

370 pages, Paperback

Published January 2, 2020

Reviews

[JLynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hajnal gives a powerful argument that race has now replaced class as a dividing factor in American society. Powerful and convincing discussion of the fundamental role that race plays in American politics in all levels of government.

[Algernon · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Elections can be said to hold up a mirror to a society,” Zoltan Hajnal writes in the introduction to his new book. “The decisions made privately on ballots reflect who we are and provide indications of whether the nation is what it aspires to be.”

Voter choice is a key metric informing this extended look at the influence of race and class divisions in American politics from the voting booth to government.

Reading the book, I wondered whether voter behavior reflects who we are so much as how we think. Our view of ourselves and our country, as reflected in elections, may be distorted.

From a wide-ranging study of election data, Hajnal finds that voters are divided by race more than socioeconomic class, and that the racial divide is getting worse in a nation that is 60 percent white yet elects white people to approximately 90 percent of its elected offices.

Race is shown to be determinative as to which candidates win elections, which voters win at the polls, and who is on the losing end of policy.

Hajnal includes the modern history of how our two dominant parties honed their messages and strategies about race and immigration, but it is also necessary to acknowledge the class interests defended by Republicans and Democrats alike. Many laws and policies that distribute wealth upward in society are the products of bipartisan consensus.

A substantial chunk of the book argues that where Democrats hold majorities, legislatures spend more on health, education and other areas to heal gaps in the well-being of non-whites.

All well and good, but voters need to know, and analysts need to point out that those gaps exist within a political context. It is hard to scrutinize bipartisan class politics if we are trained not to observe them.