Inequality Is a Problem of Inference: How People Solve the Social Puzzle of Unequal Outcomes

Abstract

Abstract:A new wave of scholarship recognizes the importance of people's understanding of inequality that underlies their political convictions, civic values, and policy views. Much less is known, however, about the sources of people's different beliefs. I argue that scholarship is hampered by a lack of consensus regarding the conceptualization and measurement of inequality beliefs, in the absence of an organizing theory. To fill this gap, in this paper, I develop a framework for studying the social basis of people's explanations for inequality. I propose that people observe unequal outcomes and must infer the invisible forces that brought these about, be they meritocratic or structural in nature. In making inferences about the causes of inequality, people draw on lessons from past experience and information about the world, both of which are biased and limited by their background, social networks, and the environments they have been exposed to. Looking at inequality beliefs through this lens allows for an investigation into the kinds of experiences and environments that are particularly salient in shaping people's inferential accounts of inequality. Specifically, I make a case for investigating how socializing institutions such as schools and neighborhoods are "inferential spaces" that shape how children and young adults come to learn about their unequal society and their own place in it. I conclude by proposing testable hypotheses and implications for research.

The paradox of inequality: income inequality and belief in meritocracy go hand in hand

“…As Irwin (2018, p. 204) puts it, 'people read the world from their own situated position and extrapolate from their own experience'. As a consequence, people underestimate social inequality (Mijs, 2018b).…”

Attitudes toward Redistributive Policy: An Introduction

“…This issue also includes three key contributions to a little-understood area of policy preference formation-how earlier experiences in life shape adult preferences. Mijs [96] theorizes that socializing institutions such as schools and neighborhoods are "inferential spaces" that shape how children and young adults come to learn about an unequal society and their places in it. He suggests that a better understanding of such origins of inequality beliefs will allow scholars to determine which experiences and environments most powerfully influence the development of policy preferences.…”

The Remains of the Socialist Legacy: The Influence of Socialist Socialization on Attitudes toward Income Inequality

“…There is a growing number of studies in various research fields emphasizing the importance of childhood experience [53,54] and their effect on values, attitudes, and behavior. In a most recent paper, Mijs [55] points out how beliefs formed in adolescence and in the first years of being a young adult tend to be durable. Accordingly, a third hypothesis is formulated, which relates to the formative years primacy thesis.…”