"The Limits of the Political System"

In the "Limits of the Political System" reading, the author makes some good points concerning the unconscious alienation of underprivileged and less economically successful citizens from the political system. However, her arguments seem to over simplify the problem and solution to the voting gap. For example, in referring to the 60 percent or so of people who do vote, she states "the sixty million share the same values and play the same game; they participate in the life of the community and share in the output of the community..." (pg 106).

By homogenizing all of the voters, claiming they share the same values, etc, she infers that the reason people don't vote is because they do not share these values. This is a clear over simplification of why people do not vote. In order to make these kinds of claims, she needs to provide more evidence concerning why people do vote and why they do not vote. She also seems to use the terms "voting" and "political participation" interchangeably. It is not clear which one she thinks will be more effective in helping the United States overcome its "titanic struggle for survival" (pg 109). After all, just "voting" does not necessarily mean people are engaging in political participation. The majority of people are capable of making a choice, but being able to make an educated choice is entirely different.