The Role of Egalitarian Ideology in System-Challenging Collective Action Among Members of Dominant and Marginalized Racial Groups

Abstract

Past research on collective action focuses on how identification with a marginalized group or with a politicized identity motivates collective action. We propose that egalitarian ideology—a preference for group-based equality and opposition to hierarchy—can help explain why both marginalized and dominant group members can be motivated to engage in system-challenging collective action. In Studies 1A–1C, among Black, Asian, and White Americans, egalitarianism was related to supporting collective action to advocate for racial equality. In Study 2, the egalitarianism–collective action relationship persisted among White participants when it was salient that their group would lose advantages from reducing racial inequality, and even among those relatively higher in White identification. Thus, egalitarianism helps explain why individuals engage in system-challenging collective action, regardless of whether their racial group benefits, and even when their racial group stands to lose.