The Ambivalent Social Status of the American Politician

HE LITERATURE of American political science indicates an almost total lack of interest in the of the elective public official. Sociologists interested in stratification and have, urifortunately, also ignored the politician. But the sociologists may be excused for assuming the politician to be the unique concern of the political scientist. Whether we are sociologists or political scientists we have a common interest in exploring a sociological fact, the social status of a political figure, the politician. I propose to consider the available evidence on the of the American elective public official and to advance a theory for an adequate explanation of the data. The views of scientists, generally, on this problem seem to indicate a rather widespread assumption on their part that the politician enjoys but little prestige.' The evidence will, I believe, seriously counter or at least qualify that assumption. The data on which this claim rests is, admittedly, meager, but it is better founded than are the impressions we have relied on for so long. Perhaps the propositions and interpretations that follow will serve to encourage others to perform some of the needed research on the systems which affect our political life.