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5 - Moral Rhetoric as Moral Representation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 February 2026

Jae-Hee Jung
Affiliation:
Rice University, Houston
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Summary

Chapter 5 examines the representational role of moral rhetoric. Moral rhetoric can be considered parties’ attempts to signal that they represent the moral values of the electorate. If so, how important is moral rhetoric as a form of moral representation? I answer this question by examining people’s attitudes about moral rhetoric in politics. I theorize that many voters want some level of moral discourse in politics, although there is variation in attitudes. I further theorize that demand for a party’s moral rhetoric exists not only among voters who support the party but also among voters who appreciate moral reasoning in politics, even if they do not support the party. Survey data from six countries show that many voters indeed want to see moral discourse in politics. Moreover, voters’ demands for moral rhetoric have partisan and nonpartisan antecedents. A voter’s copartisan status with the party positively predicts greater demand for moral rhetoric, but so does a voter’s reliance on moral reasoning when thinking about politics, holding partisanship constant. In short, we learn that moral rhetoric has representational significance for broad groups of the electorate.

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