Elite ideologies are sharply distinct while mass bases blur together indistinguishably

Evidence

The dilemmatic approach does not start with the assumption that there is an inner coherence to ideologies (Billig, 1991 , 1992 ). Ideologies are fragmentary; they contain contrary themes. The ordinary person does not passively accept the (ideological) themes of intellectual ideology. As Billig ( 1991 ) has shown the ordinary person is a ‘rhetorical being’ who engages, and argues, with dilemmatic aspects of ideology. — Cristian Tileagă, The Nature of Prejudice, 499 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Affluent-proxy preferences understate the true gap between elites and ordinary citizens. — Martin Gilens and Benjamin I. Page, Testing Theories of American Politics:…, 105; Elite cultural unity does not equal mass political unity — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 439; Political elites hold ideologically organized beliefs while the mass public shows little constraint — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 1921 (+7 more)

Broader Connections

• Ideologies are fragmentary and internally contradictory, not coherent systems #complicates (0.76) — Cristian Tileagă, The Nature of Prejudice, 499