The Political Culture of Taxation

Authors

• Steven M. Karceski, Colby College
• Steven Pfaff, Chapman UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

6-19-2026

Abstract

In My Tax Dollars: The Morality of Taxpaying in America, Ruth Braunstein explores the political culture of taxation in contemporary America. Calling our attention to the origins of contemporary tax debates, she shows how morality and American civil religion influence how citizens understand taxation, citizenship, and the proper scope of government. In this article, we review Braunstein's main arguments and the evidence she presents in support of them. We take stock of the book's theoretical frame work and the applicability of the concepts it borrows from the sociology of religion. For all there is to like about Braunstein's book, we discuss what we regard as oversights and things which we think could be improved. We suggest some other factors that have influenced the public reaction to taxation and suggest how going forward morality might help understand the American taxpayer.

Comments

This article was originally published in Political Science Quarterly in 2026. https://doi.org/10.1093/psquar/qqag032

Recommended Citation

Steven M Karceski, Steven Pfaff, The Political Culture of Taxation, Political Science Quarterly, 2026;, qqag032, https://doi.org/10.1093/psquar/qqag032

Peer Reviewed

1

Copyright

The authors

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License