We all know what’s gone wrong with politics, don’t we? It’s those people. The know-nothing, dim-witted provincials.
The problem isn’t that they’ve got the vote – rather it’s that they’ve been manipulated by fake news and social media into voting the wrong way. Whereas once they were guided by the gentle voices of their intellectual betters, the hoi polloi now decide for themselves where they get their information from. As a result they’ve self-segregated into their chosen echo chambers – emerging only to batter each other senseless on Twitter and Facebook.
It’s not really their fault, of course. These poor, weak-willed creatures just can’t help themselves. It’s therefore up to those of us with the privilege of a good education and a sophisticated outlook on life to intervene before our respective nations tear themselves apart.
Well, that’s one narrative – but does it stand up to scrutiny? In an eye-opening piece for The Atlantic, Amanda Ripley, Rekha Tenjarla and Angela Y He, look at the evidence (from a US perspective).
There’s not much doubt that America is more politically polarised than it used to be:
“We know that Americans have become more biased against one another based on partisan affiliation over the past several decades. Most of us now discriminate against members of the other political side explicitly and implicitly—in hiring, dating, and marriage, as well as judgments of patriotism, compassion, and even physical attractiveness, according to recent research.”
This is sad – but is it equally true of all Americans? The Atlantic commissioned research to find out:
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