Why We're Polarized
Ezra Klein’s Why We’re Polarized is now as relevant and timely as it gets. In outlines the shift in the U.S. politics over the course of 20th century all the way to present day, with the most important takeaway being that current status isn’t a fluke, but the natural result of a self-feeding polarization loop and the psychological and structural forces at hand.
Modern politics revolve around identities. Over the last 50 years our partisan identities merge with the racial, religious, cultural, and geographical. These identities serve as triggers for a greater divide to the point where the loss of the other party becomes the most important factor. In that way, politics has become a fan sport, where the more invested a person is, the more likely they are to ignore reason and facts in favor of their own agenda.
There is much more to Why We’re Polarized, it’s an insightful read that makes one aware of the subtle psychological tendencies that news outlets learned to play so well.