Question

One of the more famous quotes in political science (yes, there are famous quotes among political scientists) is Schattschneider's "[t]he flaw in the pluralist heaven is that the heavenly chorus sings with a strong upper-class accent." What did he mean by this?

Answer 1

Through this metaphorical expression, the political scientist Schattschneider clearly made reference to social inequality, to the existing gap between the rich and powerful members of society and those who are at the bottom of the social scale. This idea is part of the political theory of pluralism which was strongly objected by Schattschneider. He firmly criticised the fact that, according to this theory, the top layers of society have a distinct advantage among others in many aspects: distribution of resources, range of opportunities, etc.