Using the European Values Survey from 2008-9 in 43 countries, we ask whether individuals’ normative orientations and their beliefs about inequality relate to their choice and level of political engagement? We find that they are negatively related to traditional forms of political participation, including voting and political interest. We also find that these beliefs also powerfully explain individuals’ engagement in boycotts, demonstrations, and strikes. For these non-traditional forms of political participation, individuals’ beliefs about inequality are independent effects, mediated by neither national-levels of inequality nor individuals’ levels of income. Thus, in the case of non-traditional political participation, individuals’ normative beliefs seem to capture how individuals think about - and thus respond to – inequality.
