Framing Inequality: A Mixed Methods Study of Campaign Rhetoric in the US

• In Event: Elite Discourse about Inequality and Framing Effects

Abstract

Economic inequality remains at historic levels in the United States. As more attention is directed toward this phenomenon, political elites are experimenting with their rhetorical approaches. Some candidates center attention on the intersections between class, race, and gender; others frame class divides in terms of risk and anxiety. Some elites recall a more economically equal past, while others look to the future. Some focus downward on the working poor, others upward on billionaires. These widely varying frames guide the way the mass public views and interprets inequality.

This paper proceeds in three parts. The first presents a large qualitative analysis of textual and visual data from the 2020 Presidential campaign, including social media, political ads, debates, and speeches. We identify inequality-related themes, tones, and images within candidate rhetoric employing an interpretive approach drawing on a coding scheme that we previously developed to examine how members of the mass public talk about economic inequality (Condon and Wichowsky 2020).

The qualitative analysis reveals the widespread presence of populist appeals invoking upward social comparison. Such upward comparisons can persuade, but they come with serious democratic side effects. Looking up at those on the top rungs of the socioeconomic ladder influences opinion but depresses political efficacy (Condon and Wichowsky 2020), and populist rhetoric can undermine trust in political institutions (see e.g., Bonikowski 2016).

In the second part of this paper, we subject these frames to an experimental test. In a series of randomized trials, we test the effects of upward comparison campaign appeals on support for redistribution, political efficacy, and institutional trust. As expected, these appeals induce opinion change but damage trust and efficacy. In the third part of the paper, we turn to a second set of experiments in which we combine populist appeals with messages of solidarity and collective power. In this final set of studies, we test whether political actors can draw attention to upper-tail inequality in a way that does not undercut democratic engagement.

Bonikowski, Bart. 2016. "Three lessons of contemporary populism in Europe and the United States." Brown Journal of World Affairs 23 (1): 9-24.
Condon, Meghan, and Amber Wichowsky. 2020. The Economic Other: Inequality in the American Political Imagination. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Authors

• Meghan Condon, Loyola University Chicago

• Amber Wichowsky, University of Wisconsin-Madison