Equality in America

Sidney Verba and Gary Orren have illuminated, as few others could, the practical search for equality. Do we believe America is fair? Yes, but we believe in equalities of various and often contradictory kinds. Do we behave in light of what we believe? Yes, but what is equal for some may be a form of disentitlement for others. As no work of our time, this defines the subject and puts the questions. -- Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Verba and Orren dissect American attitudes toward equality by placing those beliefs in historical context and demonstrating a relationship between political and economic equality. The book is based on a study of leaders from all significant sectors of American society.

A model of meticulous and incisive scholarship, Equality in America dissects American attitudes toward equality by placing those beliefs in historical context and demonstrating a relationship between political and economic equality. The book is based on a study of leaders from all significant sectors of American society, including top business and labor leaders, those highest in the media and in political parties, and leaders from the feminist and civil rights movements.

The book takes on the thorny puzzle of how economic inequality, which is the inevitable result of a free economy, coexists with political equality, which is a necessary ingredient of democracy. In the course of their argument, the authors take issue with free market economists and Marxist analysts, both of whom treat self-interest as the driving force behind individual and collective behavior, leaving little place for the role of beliefs and values.