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Chicago Studies in American Politics
Us Against Them: Ethnocentric Foundations of American Opinion
Ethnocentrism—our tendency to partition the human world into in-groups and out-groups—pervades societies around the world. Surprisingly, though, few scholars have explored its role in political life. Donald Kinder and Cindy Kam fill this gap with Us Against Them, their definitive explanation of how ethnocentrism shapes American public opinion.
Arguing that humans are broadly predisposed to ethnocentrism, Kinder and Kam explore its impact on our attitudes toward an array of issues, including the war on terror, humanitarian assistance, immigration, the sanctity of marriage, and the reform of social programs. The authors ground their study in previous theories from a wide range of disciplines, establishing a new framework for understanding what ethnocentrism is and how it becomes politically consequential. They also marshal a vast trove of survey evidence to identify the conditions under which ethnocentrism shapes public opinion. While ethnocentrism is widespread in the United States, the authors demonstrate that its political relevance depends on circumstance. Exploring the implications of these findings for political knowledge, cosmopolitanism, and societies outside the United States, Kinder and Kam add a new dimension to our understanding of how democracy functions.
Arguing that humans are broadly predisposed to ethnocentrism, Kinder and Kam explore its impact on our attitudes toward an array of issues, including the war on terror, humanitarian assistance, immigration, the sanctity of marriage, and the reform of social programs. The authors ground their study in previous theories from a wide range of disciplines, establishing a new framework for understanding what ethnocentrism is and how it becomes politically consequential. They also marshal a vast trove of survey evidence to identify the conditions under which ethnocentrism shapes public opinion. While ethnocentrism is widespread in the United States, the authors demonstrate that its political relevance depends on circumstance. Exploring the implications of these findings for political knowledge, cosmopolitanism, and societies outside the United States, Kinder and Kam add a new dimension to our understanding of how democracy functions.
354 pages, Paperback
First published January 2, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 1, 2013
Kinder and Kam review and analyze data from several years of General Social Surveys and National Election Studies to demonstrate that differences in political and policy opinions are rooted in ethnocentrism, considerably more so than in political party affiliation or political ideology. Opposed to immigration? Advocate for aggressive war on terror? Opposed to marriage equality? Indifferent to the suffering of people in other countries? Chances are very good that you have an ethnocentric perspective (my group is better than your group -- I love and trust my people, and dislike and suspect yours). The results of their analysis are truly eye-opening and explanatory for a lot that has been a mystery for me in American politics over the last twenty-five years.
December 4, 2024
Incorporated biological and socioeconomic datasets and perspectives
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February 29, 2024the most powerful model i have for understanding modern american politics
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews