Social Class and the Willingness to Have an Opinion and Politically Participate in Peru

Abstract This paper examines how class affects political engagement in the Peruvian context. Drawing from a Bourdieusian approach, this study uses ‘don't know’ (DK) responses on opinion surveys as a measure of the willingness to state a political opinion and its relation to social class, measured by income. The results show that income is inversely correlated with political (DK) responses. Furthermore, political DK rates are associated with forms of political engagement predicted by class, as measured by income. These findings suggest that class shapes a sense of entitlement to participate in politics, and this perceived competence leads to greater involvement in forms of political activity linked to class.