[This book] develops a theory about the circumstances under which 'class identities' as opposed to 'ethnic identities' become salient in democratic politics, and links this theory to issues of inequality and government efforts to redress the balance. The book argues that in societies with even modest levels of ethnic diversity, inequality invites ethnic politics, and ethnic politics results in less redistribution than class politics. Thus, contrary to workhorse theoretical models of redistribution in social science, where inequality should be related to more redistribution, the argument here is that inequality often makes it more difficult for democracies to adopt policies that redress inequality. Instead, incentives in electoral competition can lead to a situation where inequality becomes reinforced by inequality itself. The author explores the argument empirically by examining cross-national patterns of voting behaviour, redistribution and democratic transitions."-