comparative politcs

Question

In many societies, political competition is centered on identities, such as ethnicity and race, rather than ideological or policy distinctions. Please provide at least three major explanations for why such identities, like ethnicity or race, have been more politically salient in some societies than in others. In your view, which explanation is the most compelling? Use relevant examples

Answer 1

In many societies, political competition is centered on identities such as ethnicity and race rather than ideological or policy distinctions. The least three major explanations for identities like ethnicity or race have been more politically salient than in others because race elicited numerous comments regarding its intent and focus. For example, socioeconomic, racial/ethnic, and gender inequalities in academic achievement have been widely reported in the US, but how these three axes of inequality intersect to determine academic and non-academic outcomes. Another example, Official governmental classification systems can create as well as reflect social, economic, and political inequality, just as policies of taxation, welfare, or social services can and do. Official classification defines groups, determines boundaries between them, and assigns individuals to groups; in “ranked ethnic systems". The last examples are private racial categories have affected whether an employer offers a person a job, whether a criminal defendant gets lynched, whether a university admits an applicant, and whether a heart attack victim receives the proper therapy. In these and many more ways, racial classification helps to create and maintain poverty and political, social, and economic inequality.