Different Paths, Different Attitudes: How the Socioeconomic Composition of Life Course Social Environments Shapes Perceptions of Inequality and Egalitarian Beliefs

This article examines how the socioeconomic composition of individuals' life courses influences their perceptions of inequality and egalitarian beliefs. While previous research has emphasized individual or national factors in shaping attitudes toward inequality, this study focuses on the meso-level dynamics of social environments. By examining life course exposure to diverse socioeconomic groups within key socializing institutions, such as schools and neighborhoods, we address a gap in distributive justice literature that frequently overlooks past social environments and assumes that individuals' social positions directly mirror their surroundings due to homophily. Using survey data from a representative sample of urban population in Chile and geocoded census information, we estimate the socioeconomic composition of the schools attended and the neighborhoods inhabited. We construct a life course typology, identifying exposure to low, mixed, or high-status environments. Our analyses demonstrate that, even when controlling for origin SES and social class, exposure to mixed or predominantly low socioeconomic groups is associated with higher perceptions of inequality and stronger egalitarian beliefs. Interestingly, while the influence over beliefs is shaped by individuals' socioeconomic backgrounds, the effect of life course on perceptions of inequality remains consistent across different groups. This study provides new insights into how social environments across the life course impact attitudes toward inequality, highlighting the importance of considering both past and present contexts. The findings underscore the need for future research on the role of socializing institutions in shaping distributive attitudes over time.