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Political (in)equality

Tuesday 24th of March 2026

Political equality Political equality is best understood as equality of opportunity to participate. Concretely, that requires reasonably easy- to-access intermediary powers [such as political parties and a fact-based press], as well as a reasonable chance of creating new ones. Jan-Werner Müller, Democracy Rules © 2021 Kwiple.com
Political inequality In 1790, a voter in Delaware (the least populous state) had about thirteen times more influence in the U.S. Senate than a voter in the most populous state, Virginia. In 2000, by contrast, a voter in Wyoming has neary seventy times more influence in the U.S. Senate than a voter from California. What began as a strictly small -state bias has become a rural -state bias. Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, Tyranny of the Minority  © 2023 Kwiple.com
Political inequality According to research by David Wasserman of the Cook Political Report, an electoral-analysis site, even if Democrats won the national vote by six percentage points over a six-year cycle, they would probably still be a minority in both houses. Economist, July 12, 2018 © 2018 Kwiple.com
Political inequality As of the census of 2010, the five most rural states wielded about 50% more electoral votes, and three times as many senators, per resident as the five most urban ones did. Economist, July 12, 2018 © 2018 Kwiple.com
Political inequality At no time during the twenty-first century have Senate Republicans represented a majority of the U.S. population. Based on state populations, Senate Democrats have continuously represented more Americans since 1999. Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, Tyranny of the Minority  © 2023 Kwiple.com
Political inequality [B]ecause the governing coalition will generally include representatives from minority parties, governing majorities are likely to be more inclusive than in a majoritarian system. Thus, a proportional system comes closer than a majoritarian system to providing equal representation –an[d] equal say–for all. Robert A. Dahl, How Democratic Is the American Constitution?  © 2018 Kwiple.com
Political inequality By my calculation every currently serving Democratic senator represents roughly 3.65 million people; every Republican roughly 2.51 million. Put another way, the fifty senators from the twenty-five least populous states – twenty-nine of them Republicans – represent just over 16 percent of the American population, and thirty-four Republican senators – enough to block conviction  on impeachment charges – represent states with a total of 21 percent of the American population. Christopher R. Browning, “The Suffocation of Democracy” © 2018 Kwiple.com
Political inequality … by 2040, 70 percent of the American population will live in fifteen states. Thirty percent of the population will live in thirty-five states. Think about what this means. That widely distributed 30 percent will be disproportionately white, dispropor- tionately nonurban, disproportionately older than fifty years of age. They will control seventy seats in the US Senate, enough to override a presidential veto. If they all support the same candidate for president, that candidate will begin every election with 40-vote head start in the 538-vote Electoral College. The 30 percent who live in thirty-five states are only three states short of the num- ber necessary to amend the US Constitution. David Frum, Trumpocalypse  © 2020 Kwiple.com
Political inequality Can we forget for whom we are forming a government? Is it for men  or for  the imaginary beings called States?  James Wilson, representing Pennsylvania at the  Constitutional Convention of 1787, objecting to creating the Senate because it institutionalizes unequal representation [Unfortunately, he and Roger Sherman proposed the Three Fifths Compromise, which counted slaves as 3/5 of a person]  © 2018 Kwiple.com
Political inequality Congress shall have the Power … To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States Article I, Section 8, Clause 17 of the United States Constitution © 2015 Kwiple.com
Political inequality The District constituting the seat of Government of the United States shall appoint in such manner as the Congress may direct: A number of electors of President and Vice President equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives to which the District would be entitled if it were a State, but in no event more than the least populous State Amendment XXIII of the United States Constitution © 2015 Kwiple.com
Political inequality Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: — The Electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President Article II, Section 1, Clause 2 and Amendment XII of the United States Constitution © 2015 Kwiple.com
Political inequality The extent and nature of representational inequalities reflect the degree of democracy in a given society, and when inequalities in political influence become too large, democracy shades into oligarchy (rule by the few) or plutocracy (rule by the wealthy). Martin Gilens, Affluence and Influence  © 2017 Kwiple.com
Political inequality The fifty Republican Senators represent  a population that comprises approximately forty-one million fewer citizens than the Democrats represent. Mary Trump, The Reckoning  [2021] © 2021 Kwiple.com
Political inequality  Four of nine current Supreme Court justices — Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett — were confirmed by a Senate majority that collectively won a minority of the popular vote in Senate elections and represented less than half of the American population. And three of them — Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Coney Barrett — were also nominated by a president who lost the popular vote. Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, Tyranny of the Minority  © 2023 Kwiple.com
Political inequality History has dehypotheticalized Hamilton's angry worry [in Federalist #22 about the potential for minority rule]; the twenty-six smallest states, whose fifty-two representatives make up a majority in the Senate, speak for just 18% of the population. Jordan Ellenberg, Shape [2021] © 2022 Kwiple.com
Political inequality The House of Representatives is more balanced [than the Senate], but even there Democrats can win a majority of votes and end up with fewer seats. The Economist's own model suggests that Democrats need to win by seven points to have a greater than 50% chance of gaining a majority in the House. Gerrymandering is partly to blame. But the Democratic vote is also ineffi- cient: its candidates pile up votes in districts they win by a landslide. The Republican vote is more thinly spread, so its candidates can win more seats with fewer votes. The Economist, July 12, 2018 © 2018 Kwiple.com
Political inequality If exact equality of influence is not a plausible aim, what else might political equality mean concretely? One answer is this: a roughly equal likelihood of getting the policy that serves one's interests. If one loses, it is not because one's interests are systematically neglected (let alone that one's standing in the polity is systematically undermined); rather, it was tough luck that one lost this round. In other words, loss does not equal evidence of systematic disadvantage or of lack of standing. Jan-Werner Müller, Democracy Rules © 2021 Kwiple.com
Political inequality If we were to formulate a general principle and apply it fairly, would not  those most entitled to protection be the least privileged  minorities – rather than those who happen to live in the smallest states? Robert A. Dahl, How Democratic Is the American Constitution?  © 2018 Kwiple.com
Political inequality [I]n America's political system winning votes and winning office are not the same thing. Federal elections give more power to rural voters than to urban or suburban ones. When it comes to picking a president, California has one electoral-college vote per 720,000 people. In Wyoming the ratio is one per 190,000. The disparity is much greater in the Sen- ate, since California (population 39.5m) and Wyoming (population 580,000) both elect two senators. The Economist, July 12, 2018 © 2018 Kwiple.com
Political inequality In an August 2019 op-ed in defense of the legislative filibuster, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell  invoked the authority of Thomas Jefferson: “great innovations should not be forced on slender majorities.” But as it is, even great  majorities are prevented from pursuing even small  innovations. As of 2018, the fifty states and the Dis- trict of Columbia were home together to 327 million people. A law passed by Sena- tors representing 290.4 million of them can effectively be vetoed by Senators re- presenting 36.6 million … or 11 percent. David Frum, Trumpocalypse  © 2020 Kwiple.com
Politial inequality In the age of Trump, Democrats have developed a great sense of pride in their role protecting America's frayed democratic norms.  But there may come  a moment when the euphoria of a better-than-expected midterm election is only a memory and the sense of righteous virtue that comes from defending democracy begins to wear thin. When that day arrives, many of the voters who who make up the party's base and a majority of the country … might find that it is no longer tolerable to be ruled by a dwindling and overempowered minority. There is only so much satisfaction to be drawn from being the sole party with an unblemished record of dutifully surrendering power. Alexander Burns, New York Review of Books, January 19, 2023 © 2023 Kwiple.com
Political inequality In the current Senate, Democratic senators represent more than  forty million more people than Republicans. And yet the Senate is evenly divided between the two parties. That means that Republicans are hugely favored to hold the Senate in future elections, regardless of whether the voters prefer Democratic control. And the GOP control of the Senate will give the Republicans the power to block any Democratic judicial nominations and the power to block legislation writing federal regulations into a statute. Ian Milhiser, The Agenda  [2021] © 2021 Kwiple.com
Political inequality In the past three House elections, Republicans' share of House seats has been 4-5 percentage points greater than their share of the two-party vote. In 2012 they won a comfortable 54% of the chamber despite receiving fewer votes than their Democratic opponents; in 2014 they converted a 51% two-party-vote share into 55% of the seats. Economist, July 12, 2018 © 2018 Kwiple.com
Political inequality In theory, senators representing just 16 per cent of America's population could hold sway over the US Senate within a generation. On present course, almost all are likely to be Republican. With 750,000 people, North Dakota has one senator per 375,000 people. With 40m, California has one representing every 20m. It would take a two-thirds majority of each chamber and three-quarters of the states to approve a constitutional amendment. The chances that Republicans will agree to alter the rules are close to zero. It would be like turkeys voting for Thanksgiving. Edward Luce, Financial Times, November 9, 2018 © 2018 Kwiple.com
Political inequality In 2020, the twenty-six states with the smallest populations control the majority of votes in the Senate while representing only 18 percent of the U.S. population. “Our Common Purpose: Reinventing American Democracy for the 21st Century,” Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship © 2022 Kwiple.com
Political inequality The main reason, perhaps the only real reason, why second chambers exist in all federal systems is to preserve and protect unequal  representation. That is, they exist primarily to ensure that the representatives of small units cannot be readily outvoted by the representatives of large units. In a word, they are designed to construct a barrier to majority rule at the national level. Robert A. Dahl, How Democratic Is the American Constitution?  © 2018 Kwiple.com
Political inequality A majority of votes in the Senate can be cast by Senators representing less than 15 percent of the voters. Thus a policy preferred by the representatives of 85 percent of the voters could be vetoed by the representatives of 15 percent of the voters. Robert A. Dahl, On Political Equality [1952 election results] © 2018 Kwiple.com
Political inequality Many Americans no doubt view the costs of spending time and effort to reduce inequalities in political resources as too high precisely because they view the benefits as low or nonexistent. The absence of perceived benefits to be gained from reducing inequalities in the distribution [of] resources may be more important to them than the relatively high cost of political struggle. In short, the costs of struggle exceed the gains. Robert A. Dahl, On Political Equality © 2017 Kwiple.com
Political inequality Many people find it odd that voters in small, sparsely populated states seem to have more “voting power” than people in large, densely populated states. As an example, about 553,000 eligible voters in North Dakota get three electoral votes, or one elector per 177,666 voters, roughly, while California's much larger electorate of about 23.6 million eligible voters gets fifty-five electoral votes, or about one for every 429,455 votes. Richard M. Valelly, American Politics [copyrighted 2013] [429,455 / 177,666 = 2.42] [2.42 is criminally beyond “1 man 1 vote”] © 2018 Kwiple.com
Political inequality No iron rule in American politics says an electoral majority greatly disadvantaged by the country's political institutions has to operate with effusive respect for them.  A Democratic presidential candidate who  wins the popular vote and loses the Electoral College — like Hillary Clinton and Al Gore — is not bound by law to concede promptly. A popular president constrained by the Senate's rural majority does not have to keep private his view that the institution is obsolete. Alexander Burns, New York Review of Books, January 19, 2023 © 2023 Kwiple.com
Political inequality On Tuesday, according to The Times, Democratic Senate candidates garnered 45 million votes, and Republicans just 33 million (57 percent to 42 percent). Yet, the Republicans will gain perhaps three seats. That is not democracy.  Michael Tomasky, New York Times, November 7, 2018 © 2018 Kwiple.com
Political inequality The present Republican Senate majority, which fast-tracked a third Supreme Court Justice to confirmation at a time when 60m had already cast their vote, represents 15m fewer Americans than the Democratic senators on whom they impenitently imposed their will. Sooner or later, these institutional anomalies will be redefined as gross injustices. Simon Schama, Financial Times, October 30, 2020 © 2020 Kwiple.com
Political inequality A Quinnipiac University poll just before the Senate vote on whether to allow witnesses in Trump's impeachment trial found that 75% of registered voters favored having witnesses   Census Bureau   Census Bureau   estimated 2019   estimated 2019 Sen- population Sen- population ators represented ators represented voting by Senators voting by Senators “Yes” voting “Yes” “No” voting “No” ==== ========= ==== ========= 49 172,132,319 51 155,401,455 49% 52.55% 51% 47.45% ==== ========= ==== ========= Blow me down! The Senate thwarts the will of the majority! © 2020 Kwiple.com
Political inequality Running directly counter to political equality is a fundamental law governing human nature and human society: Political resources, knowledge, skills and incentives are always  and everywhere distributed unequally. Robert A. Dahl, On Political Equality © 2018 Kwiple.com
Political inequality That year [2018 in Wisconsin], Democrats swept all five statewide races and won 53 percent of votes cast for the state asembly, but the party retained just 36 percent of seats in the chamber. … in 2021 … the number of GOP-leaning seats in the state assembly has increased from 61 to 63 out of 99 and from 21 to 23 out of 33 seats in the state senate. Democrats would have to win the statewide vote by 12 points just to get to 50 seats in the assembly. Ari Berman, Mother Jones, October 25, 2022 [Apparently, Republicans there think "Wisconsin" is Algonquian for "gerrymander"] © 2018 Kwiple.com
Political inequality Today … Republicans are predominantly the party of sparsely populated regions,  while Democrats are the party of the cities. As a result, the Constitution's small-state bias, which became a rural  bias in the twentieth century, has become a partisan bias in the twentieth-first century. We are experiencing our own form of “creeping counter-majoritarianism.” Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, Tyranny of the Minority  © 2023 Kwiple.com
Political inequality The unequal accumulation of political  resources points to an ominous possibility: political inequalities may be ratcheted up, so to speak, to a level from which they cannot be ratcheted down. The cumulative advantages in power, influence, and authority of the more privileged strata may become so great that even if less privileged Americans compose a majority of citizens they are simply unable, and perhaps even unwill- ing, to make the effort it would require to overcome the forces of inequality arrayed against them. Robert A. Dahl, On Political Equality © 2017 Kwiple.com
Political inequality Unequal representation in the Senate has unquestionably failed to protect the fundamental interests of the least  privileged minorities. On the contrary, unequal representation has sometimes served to protect the interests of the most  privileged minorities. An obvious case is the protection of the rights of slaveholders rather than the rights of their slaves. Robert A. Dahl, How Democratic Is the American Constitution?  © 2018 Kwiple.com
Political inequality [T]he unequal social class makeup of our political institutions affects who wins and who loses in the policy-making process. Like ordinary Americans, lawmakers from different classes tend to think, vote, and advocate differently on economic issues. The numerical underrepresentation of the working class in our legislatures consequenly skews economic policy- making toward outcomes that are more in line with what more privileged Americans want. Nicholas Carnes, White-Collar Government © 2019 Kwiple.com
 
Political inequality Wisconsin's legislative maps drawn in 2011, protected Republican supermajorities even after Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican, was defeated last year. Republican candidates for the State Assembly won just 46 percent of the popular vote, but they captured 64 percent of the chamber's seats. New York Times, January 3, 2019 © 2019 Kwiple.com