{"product_id":"keeping-workers-off-the-ballot-how-democracy-undermines-working-class-representation-paperback","title":"Keeping Workers Off the Ballot: How Democracy Undermines Working-Class Representation - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eNicholas Carnes\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003eNoam Lupu\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWhy the underrepresentation of the working class in political office is an inevitable side effect of electoral democracy itself\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhy do so few working-class people go on to hold elected office? In the average democracy, working-class jobs make up about seventy percent of occupations, but only two percent of national legislators come from working-class jobs. In \u003ci\u003eKeeping Workers Off the Ballot\u003c\/i\u003e, Nicholas Carnes and Noam Lupu show that this disparity is not because working-class people are less appealing to voters, less interested in running, or less qualified. And the problem isn't limited to certain countries, campaign finance regimes, or electoral systems. Carnes and Lupu argue that it is the nature of elections themselves that keep workers off our ballots and out of office. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eCarnes and Lupu point to two inherent features of elections that discourage working-class candidates throughout democracies across the globe. Running for office naturally involves taking on significant personal burdens--giving up time, energy, and certainty about the future--that are prohibitive to people in lower-wage, labor-intensive, and more precarious occupations such as manual laborer, retail clerk, and home health aide. Party gatekeepers in turn have strategic incentives to favor potential candidates who can more easily meet the demands of running, and as a result, they pass over qualified working-class people. Carnes and Lupu argue that workers won't have a seat at the table in our political system unless parties form institutionalized partnerships with strong worker organizations or democracies embrace alternative forms of leadership selection that directly harness the perspectives of ordinary citizens.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eNicholas Carnes\u003c\/b\u003e is the Z. Smith Reynolds Professor of Public Policy and professor of political science and sociology at Duke University. He is the author of \u003ci\u003eWhite-Collar Government\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Cash Ceiling\u003c\/i\u003e (Princeton). \u003cb\u003eNoam Lupu\u003c\/b\u003e is the Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Professor of Political Science and director of the Center for Global Democracy at Vanderbilt University. He is the author of \u003ci\u003eParty Brands in Crisis\u003c\/i\u003e and the coeditor of \u003ci\u003eUnequal Democracies\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 232\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.53 x 8.5 x 5.5 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e October 06, 2026\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55231803359565,"sku":"9780691285290","price":53.88,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0927\/3304\/7117\/files\/cAoUtqkVe9780691285290.webp?v=1793299835","url":"https:\/\/belfastbooks.us\/products\/keeping-workers-off-the-ballot-how-democracy-undermines-working-class-representation-paperback","provider":"belfastbooks.us","version":"1.0","type":"link"}