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American Insecurity: Why Our Economic Fears Lead to Political Inaction
Contributor(s): Levine, Adam Seth (Author)

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 ISBN: 0691162964     ISBN-13: 9780691162966
Publisher: Princeton University Press
OUR PRICE: $34.65  

Binding Type: Hardcover - See All Available Formats & Editions
Published: January 2015
Qty:
Additional Information
BISAC Categories:
- Political Science | Public Policy - Economic Policy
- Political Science | Political Process - Political Advocacy
- Business & Economics | Economic Conditions
Dewey: 330.973
LCCN: 2014023570
Physical Information: 0.9" H x 6.4" W x 9.7" L (1.30 lbs) 320 pages
Features: Bibliography, Illustrated, Index, Price on Product
Review Citations: Kirkus Reviews 12/01/2014
Library Journal 02/15/2015 pg. 116
Choice 08/01/2015
 
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.
Publisher Description:
Americans today face no shortage of threats to their financial well-being, such as job and retirement insecurity, health care costs, and spiraling college tuition. While one might expect that these concerns would motivate people to become more politically engaged on the issues, this often
doesn't happen, and the resulting inaction carries consequences for political debates and public policy. Moving beyond previously studied barriers to political organization, American Insecurity sheds light on the public's inaction over economic insecurities by showing that the rhetoric surrounding
these issues is actually self-undermining. By their nature, the very arguments intended to mobilize individuals-asking them to devote money or time to politics-remind citizens of their economic fears and personal constraints, leading to undermobilization and nonparticipation.Adam Seth Levine
explains why the set of people who become politically active on financial insecurity issues is therefore quite narrow. When money is needed, only those who care about the issues but are not personally affected become involved. When time is needed, participation is limited to those not personally
affected or those who are personally affected but outside of the labor force with time to spare. The latter explains why it is relatively easy to mobilize retirees on topics that reflect personal financial concerns, such as Social Security and Medicare. In general, however, when political
representation requires a large group to make their case, economic insecurity threats are uniquely disadvantaged.Scrutinizing the foundations of political behavior, American Insecurity offers a new perspective on collective participation.

Contributor Bio(s): Levine, Adam Seth: - Adam Seth Levine is an assistant professor in the Department of Government at Cornell University. He has published in a variety of outlets such as the Journal of Politics, Political Analysis. Review of Behavioral Economics, and Political Communication. His work has won numerous awards, including the 2011 E. E. Schattschneider Prize. This prize is the highest dissertation award in the field of American government and is given annually by the American Political Science Association.
 
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