Mass political attitudes show virtually no latent structure at all

Evidence

In our first reading in this section, Converse cleverly weighs in on the “end of ideology” debate by arguing for the necessity of distinguishing between the belief systems of political elites and ordinary citizens. On the basis of survey data, Converse concludes that only a small percentage of voters (approximately 15%) should be classified as “ideologues” or “near-ideologues” and that more than a third of the population cannot accurately define even such basic political terms as liberal and conservative. This does not mean, however, that the left-right distinction is meaningless or inconsequential. Elite politicians—whose belief systems are far more constrained by social and psychological forces than are the belief systems of mass publics—do use conventional ideological dimensions to organize their political attitudes. — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 1815 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

But they are grossly out-numbered, as they are in the active electorate. The general point is that the matrix of correlations for the elite sample is of the sort that would be appropriate for factor analysis, the statistical technique designed to reduce a number of correlated variables to a more limited set of organizing dimensions. The matrix representing the mass public, however, despite its realistic complement of ideologues, is exactly the type that textbooks advise against using for factor analysis on the simple grounds that through inspection it is clear that there is virtually nothing in the way of organization to be discovered. — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 1921 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Many voters evaluate politics with no policy content at all; Political elites hold ideologically organized beliefs while the mass public shows little constraint — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 1921; Group-interest voters lack the contextual grasp to respond ideologically without elite guidance (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Only a small fraction of voters hold coherent ideological belief systems #corroborates (0.95) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 1815
• Political elites hold ideologically organized beliefs while the mass public shows little constraint #corroborates (0.93) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 1921