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Abstract
We investigate how vertical unity within a community interacts with horizontal class
divisions of an unequal income distribution. Community is conceptualized in terms of a
public good to which all those in the community have equal access, but from which
outsiders are excluded. We formulate the idea of redistributive tension, or class
antagonism, in terms of the costs that poorer individuals would be willing to impose on the
rich, to achieve a given gain in personal income. Our conclusion is that the nominal
distribution of income could give a misleading picture of tensions in society, both within
and across communities. Ideologies of community solidarity may well trump those of class
solidarity because of the implicit sharing of community resources brought about by
community-specific public goods. Greater economic mobility of particular types may
actually exacerbate class tensions instead of attenuating them. We illustrate our theoretical
results with a discussion of a number of historical episodes of shifting class tensions and
alliances.