Polity
From Hobson's Choice
The politically active, potentially influential base of a regime. Unlike the electorate, whose political powers are formally defined, the social scientist needs to consider a polity weighted for the influence of its constituent parts. For example, the electorate of the United States consists of its adult citizens, minus those barred from voting as punishment for a felony. But the polity is a more nebulous concept, which accords far greater weight to voters in small states like Wyoming than large states like California, and which accords far more weight to members of the business elites, who actually have attractive options to choose from.
Members of chronically marginalized groups, such as the urban poor, cannot be regarded as members of the polity since their franchise is applicable to uniformly unattractive choices.
See Also
James R MacLean (19:57, 9 September 2007 (PDT))
