The Democratic Class Struggle in Postwar Societies: Traditional Class Voting in Twenty Countries, 1945-1990

Abstract

In assessing the influence of class on politics in the post-WWII period, empirical data are presented on voting patterns across 20 Western democratic industrialized countries, 1945-1990. Both the traditional manual/nonmanual class scheme & a more detailed, 7-category measure -- the EGP class scheme -- are employed in the analysis, as well as measures of both absolute & relative class voting. Results indicate substantial between-country differences in overall levels of relative class voting & significant within-country declines in class voting levels across this period. Directions for future research on political explanations for these findings are outlined. 3 Tables, 40 References. K. Hyatt Stewart