Political Alienation and Political Behavior

Why do people adopt attitudes of political alienation--attitudes of estrangement from, or lack of identification with, the political system? Why do some politically alienated people react to their alienation by engaging in revolutionary behavior, while others similarly alienated--become reformers or ritualists, and still others simply drop out of political activity? In Political Alienation and Political Behavior, David C. Schwartz attempts to answer these questions, challenging accepted theories of social status and economic difficulties and developing a completely new, three variable psychological theories to explain alienation. Based on observations of threat from value conflict, perceived personal inefficacy, and perceived systemic inefficacy, the theory includes a process model for predicting political behavior. The book is organized into a definition and discussion of the concept of political alienation, including reviews and critiques of relevant scholarly and popular literature; a theoretical explanation of the causes and consequences of alienation; presentation of data; research reports testing the author's explanation of political alienation; tests of a process model explaining the consequences of alienation; and a summary of the major findings of the research, indicating some of the directions that future research might profitably take. Fascinating reading for social scientists, this well-written book will be important to teachers and students concerned with U.S. politics and more generally with the relationship of economic, social, and psychological forces manifested in political behavior.

David C. Schwartz

I: Introduction; 1: A Theory of Political Alienation; II: On the Limitations of Traditional Approaches to the Study of Political Alienation; 1: Introduction; Contexts and Methods of Research: Notes on the Data Chapters of this Book; 2: Socio-Cultural And Political Alienation; 3: Social Background Factors and Political Alienation; III: On the Psycho-Political Process of Alienation; 4: The Process of Political Alienation; 5: Psycho-Political Correlates of Political Alienation in Four Urban Communities; 6: On the Causes and Expression of Political Alienation among American University Students; 7: Political Alienation among Political Scientists and Sociologists; IV: On the Consequences of Political Alienation; 8: The Consequences of Alienation: A Theory of Alienated Political Behavior; 9: Alienation and the Adoption of Basic Political Orientations in a University Community; 10: Alienation and the Adoption of Basic Political Orientations in Black Communities; 11: Alienation and Communication Behavior; 12: From Political Alienation to Revolutionary Support; 13: Get Involved! and Get Alienated? Political Involvement and Political Alienation in Urban Communities; V: Conclusion; 14: From the lonely crowd to the Strident Society