Moved to Action Motivation, Participation, and Inequality in American Politics [Hardcover]

Wealthy, educated, and more privileged people are more likely to participate and be represented in politics than their poorer, less educated, and less privileged counterparts. To reduce these inequalities, we need a better understanding of how the disadvantaged become motivated to participate.Moved to Actionfills the current gap in this area of research by examining the commitments and pathways through which the underprivileged become engaged in politics.Drawing on original, in-depth interviews with political activists and large-scale survey data, author Hahrie C. Han contests the traditional idea that people must be politicized before they participate, and that only idiosyncratic factors outside the control of the political system can drive motivation. Her findings show that that highly personal commitments, such as the quality of children's education or the desire to help a friend, have a disproportionately large impact in motivating political participation among people with fewer resources. Han makes the case that civic and political organizations can lay the foundation for greater citizen participation by helping people recognize the connections between their personal commitments and politics. Few issues in American politics are as important as political inequality. In this fresh, compelling book, rising star Hahrie Han shows how we can increase political participation and reduce inequality by fostering issue interests through group memberships, especially among lower SES individuals. A new must-read in political participation. Why is this a path-breaking book? Because it presents the first big new idea about political participation in a decade. It demonstrates how specific, vivid personal experiences can trigger political involvement. It shows how issue commitments can be the product of participation rather than its cause. And it asks why people continue to be involved in politics, not just why they became politically active. Moved to ActionislÃ{