“Equal political voice and democratically responsive government are widely cherished American ideals. Indeed, the United States is vigorously promoting democracy abroad. Yet, what is happening to democracy at home? Our country's ideals of equal citizenship and responsive government may be under growing threat in an era of persistent and rising inequalities. Disparities of income, wealth, and access to opportunity are growing more sharply in the United States than in many other nations, and gaps between races and ethnic groups persist. Progress toward realizing American ideals of democracy may have stalled, and in some arenas reversed.”

So writes the Task Force on Inequality and American Democracy in the opening page of its newly released general report, “American Democracy in an Age of Rising Inequality.” The 15-member Task Force, chaired by Lawrence Jacobs of the University of Minnesota, was appointed by 2002 APSA President Theda Skocpol to review and assess the best current scholarship about the health and functioning of U.S. democracy in a time of rising inequality. In completing its work, the committee has prepared three distinct components:

[bull ] A short report aimed at the general public and journalists written in a clear and forceful manner intended to provoke both interest and debate. This report reflects the interest of the Council, Association, and profession to expand the public presence of political science in the broader debates about American and international politics.

[bull ] Extensive reviews of political science research on economic, gender, racial, and ethnic inequalities in American politics within three principal areas of scholarly analysis—political “voice” (political behaviour and public opinion), governance (representation and the institutional and political dynamics of the lawmaking branches), and public policy and its feedback on political voice and governance. These three critical reviews offer a state of the art analysis of existing research on inequality and American democracy writtenn in a language and tone that is accessible to undergraduates, graduate students, and scholars in diverse fields and disciplines.

[bull ] Extensive teaching modules on inequality and American democracy. The teaching materials provide a “master” guideline to nearly two dozen distinct topics for instructors designing their own course syllabus at the undergradauate and graduate levels. In addition, individual syllabi are offered as illustration for how this material might be assembled.

All of the materials and a list of Task Force members can be found on the APSA web site <www.apsanet.org/inequality>. The report was received by the APSA Council at its spring meeting in Chicago.

These reports represent the voice of the Task Force, not the American Political Science Association. The conclusions are meant to provoke discussion and debate, not only in professional circles, but also in the broader public. APSA and the Task Force are disseminating materials widely. In June, a briefing at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. was held to relase the Task Force report. This year's APSA Annual Meeting will sponsor three events focusing on aspects of the Task Force report, including a panel with George Soros, a roundtable with Task Force members, and a workshop on developing courses based on its findings. Details on these events are available on the APSA web site and in the October issue of PS.

As part of the dissemination, the Russell Sage Foundation will publish an edited book, tentatively titled “Inequality and American Democracy: What We Know and What We Need to Learn,” centered around the three working groups principal areas of scholarly analysis—participation, governance, and public policy.