2023-04-24 09:41:58
SSocial inequality is perceived as a problem in many countries, but to varying degrees. On the one hand, inequalities of opportunity resulting from family origins are considered to be problematic, on the other hand, those that are reflected in an excessive spread of income and wealth levels. In the first case, the undesired perpetuation of inequality is in the foreground, in the second, the assumption that “too much” inequality could lead to resentment. But when is the inequality too great in the eyes of those affected? And does more inequality also mean louder calls for redistribution?
Even if there is now informative data on the inequality conditions for most countries, this at best indirectly influences public perception. Hardly anyone regularly studies statistics or even social science studies. Especially in Germany, where salaries are rarely talked about, personal experience is likely to play a minor role. So the assessment of inequality remains dependent on occasional thematization in the mass media and political communication. The perceptions produced in this way – and not the actual circumstances – then decide whether inequalities are considered problematic and what political conclusions are drawn from them.
In a recently published study, the American political scientist Kris-Stella Trump examined in an international comparison how perceived income inequalities in different countries relate to actual and desired income inequalities. Data from the International Social Survey Program (ISSP) provide an insight into how respondents in 27 countries perceive income inequality: they were asked, among other things, how much a CEO makes and how much an unskilled worker – and what they think their salaries should be. This results in measures of the perceived and “fair” relationship of incomes, which can be compared with the statistically measured income inequality of the countries. Further questions provide information on whether inequality in the country is considered too high and whether redistribution, for example through higher taxes, is desired.
How social inequality is perceived
At first glance, there is a weak connection between perceived and actual inequality, i.e. the spread of salaries is reflected in a corresponding perception. However, this association is neither particularly strong nor statistically significant. While respondents in countries with high levels of inequality also perceive it as greater, the differences to perceptions in much less unequal countries are relatively small. Perception and reality are therefore only loosely coupled. As a result, actual income inequality has practically no influence on the level of inequality that is considered desirable – there is only a connection here with perceived inequality.
It is therefore not surprising that political attitudes towards questions of social inequality have little to do with the actual conditions, but all the more to do with the – often deviating – perception of the same. The measured income inequality does not allow any conclusions to be drawn as to whether the respondents consider the inequality in their country to be “too high”. Nor does support for policies that would reduce income inequality or tax high incomes more heavily depend on a country’s income situation.
These results confirm the well-known fact in sociology that injustices and abuses do not have social and political consequences because of their “objective” characteristics, but only through their perception and interpretation. The study cannot answer how this perception is influenced and changed. In any case, more and better information, which some hope to get from salary transparency initiatives, for example, shouldn’t make a decisive difference. Corresponding knowledge would be available in many cases, but the perception apparently depends at least as much on one’s own preferences and standards as on the facts.
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