Age Trends in Political Thinking: Dissent, Voting, and the Distribution of Wealth

Young people's ideas on dissent, voting, and the distribution of wealth were explored in two samples. Sample 1 consisted of 54 white, middle class boys, ages 8, 11, and 16, from a fairly conservative suburb of Chicago. Sample 2 was comprised of 61 white, middle class boys and girls, ages 6 to 16, from liberal neighborhoods of New York. For the most part, the age trends were similar in the two samples. The youngest children usually said that the people could not dissent because they would be punished, that voting is important to "get a president," and that the rich should obey a rule that they give money to the poor because of the poor's urgent needs. Children in the middle age range often said that dissent is to be tolerated because it occurs, focused on voting as a competitive process, and strongly objected to redistributing the wealth because the rich had earned their money in fair competition. The oldest Ss frequently discussed dissent and voting in terms of democratic principles, and occasionally contemplated an ideal society with no rich and poor.