Research Catalog

Title

Why cities lose : the deep roots of the urban-rural political divide / Jonathan Rodden.

Author

Rodden, Jonathan

Publication

New York : Basic Books, 2019.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

vii, 313 pages : illustrations; 25 cm

Summary

• "A ... political scientist traces the origins of urban-rural political conflict and shows how geography shapes elections in America and beyond. Why is it so much easier for the Democratic Party to win the national popular vote than to build and maintain a majority in Congress? Why can Democrats sweep statewide offices in places like Pennsylvania and Michigan yet fail to take control of the same states' legislatures? Many place exclusive blame on partisan gerrymandering and voter suppression. But as political scientist Jonathan A. Rodden demonstrates in Why Cities Lose, the left's electoral challenges have deeper roots in economic and political geography. In the late nineteenth century, support for the left began to cluster in cities among the industrial working class. Today, left-wing parties have become coalitions of diverse urban interest groups, from racial minorities to the creative class. These parties win big in urban districts but struggle to capture the suburban and rural seats necessary for legislative majorities. A bold new interpretation of today's urban-rural political conflict, Why Cities Lose also points to electoral reforms that could address the left's under-representation while reducing urban-rural polarization."--
• Why is it so much easier for the Democratic Party to win the national popular vote than to build and maintain a majority in Congress? Many place exclusive blame on partisan gerrymandering and voter suppression. Rodden shows that the left's electoral challenges have deeper roots in economic and political geography. Left-wing parties have become coalitions of diverse urban interest groups, from racial minorities to the creative class. Rodden points to electoral reforms that could address the left's under-representation while reducing urban-rural polarization. -- adapted from jacket

Subject

• Democratic Party (U.S.)
• Electoral geography > United States
• Cities and towns > Political aspects > United States
• Voting research > United States
• Right and left (Political science) > United States
• Representative government and representation > United States
• POLITICAL SCIENCE > Government > General
• Cities and towns > Political aspects
• Electoral geography
• Representative government and representation
• Right and left (Political science)
• Voting research
• United States

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references and index.

Contents

Geography and the dilemma of the left -- The long shadow of the industrial revolution -- From workers' parties to urban parties -- Urban form and voting -- What is wrong with the Pennsylvania Democrats? -- Political geography and the representation of Democrats -- Political geography and the battle for the soul of the left -- Proportional representation and the road not taken -- The end of the dilemma?

Call Number

JFE 20-399

ISBN

• 9781541644274
• 1541644271
• 9781541644250 (canceled/invalid)

LCCN

2018057050

OCLC

1056781471

Author

Rodden, Jonathan, author.

Title

Why cities lose : the deep roots of the urban-rural political divide / Jonathan Rodden.

Publisher

New York : Basic Books, 2019.

Edition

First edition.

Type of Content

text

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Note

AUTH: STANFORD UNIVERSITY

Research Call Number

JFE 20-399