Postmaterialisme en stemgedrag. Enkele kanttekeningen bij de analyse van politieke waarde

Samenvatting

A discussion of three articles previously published in Mens en Maatschappij, by: Paul G. J. Hendriks Vettehen (see SA 38:5/90X0159); C. P. Middendorp (see SA 37:3/89U6075); & B. Niemoller & C. van der Eijk (see SA 35:4/87R7636). All three investigate the impact of postmaterialist values on voting behavior. Niemoller & van der Eijk attempt to answer the question of whether the old Left/Right ideological dimension, being used as an explanation for voting behavior, has been replaced by a new dimension, ie, a postmaterialist dimension. Middendorp also uses Left-Right self-placement as an explanatory variable for Left-Right voting behavior. The argument of Hendriks Vettehen, however, has more serious flaws than do those of the other authors. He uses a trivial & biased operationalization of voting behavior; also, only one item, attitude toward abortion, is used as a variable indicating a postmaterialist value orientation. It is concluded that more theoretically elaborated models are required. 9 References. Modified AA