125 Video: Martin Gilens on Political Inequality

In the video below, at the MIT Citizens Rising “Anti-Corruption” Symposium, Martin Gilens explores political inequality in the United States. Discussing the results of his recent study, Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens, Gilens presents us with “a deeply disturbing implication: our society is a democracy in name only.” Analyzing approximately 2,000 survey questions regarding a range of federal government policies since the 1980’s, he finds that policy makers respond exclusively to the desires of the rich—with the preferences of ordinary citizens being largely irrelevant.

Note: Feel free to watch the entire video, but the recommended talk by Martin Gilens begins at the 10:30 mark.