Only a small fraction of voters hold coherent ideological belief systems

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

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to Lippmann’s and Zaller’s work on public opinion and information processing; also resonates with the finding that elites organize attitudes ideologically while mass publics do not.