Just Finished Reading: Why We’re Polarized by Ezra Klein (FP: 2020) [281pp] 

Casual outside observers might be surprised that the US political scene hasn’t always been as polarised as it is today. In the 1950’s and even into the mid/late 1960’s there was much agreement between both parties which allowed for a legislative agenda based on common ground and common understanding. Both Democrats and Republicans were members of truly ‘broad churches’ which overlapped on many central issues. Democrats could vote for fiscal responsibility and low taxes whilst Republicans could create and support the Environmental Protection Agency. Not anymore. So why and when did it all go wrong? Like other author’s I’ve read recently this author points to the Civil Rights acts in the early 60’s as the break point. With their enactment the Southern Democrats turned their backs on their northern previous compatriots and started moving right – abandoning the Democratic Party for the Republicans. Needing support from elsewhere the Democrats broadened an already broad church and became much more diverse into the bargain. Meanwhile the Republican Party continued to move to the right as well as getting older and whiter in its make-up. Fast forward 60 years or so and here we are... 

Naturally there’s a whole host of socio-economic, cultural and historical forces going on here. There’s the long-term drift from the country to the city, [side note: an interesting statistic popped up here. Apparently (as far as I can remember) counties with a population of less than 500 per square mile tend Republican where those over 500 tend Democrat. This certainly explains why ‘red states’ can vote ‘blue’ despite – geographically – being almost entirely red.] from heartland to the coasts, and most importantly (something else I’ve seen mentioned elsewhere) the demographic shift from a predominantly white population to a majority non-white which should ‘tip over’ around 2045. This stark fact has alarmed some people greatly. Added to this is the fact that as the average white voter is approaching retirement, the average non-white (yet to vote) is still in high-school. Both parties have approached this issue differently – the Democrats have tried to expand their reach across all demographics whilst the Republicans have attempted to deepen their appeal to their aging predominantly white base to ensure that they’re energised to vote. 

The author is clear that he’s not offering solutions here. He’s looking at the problem – and a problem it definitely is when the parties cannot agree on which direction is ‘up’ never mind anything as substantive as policy differences which is causing the legislative system to grind to a complete halt more and more often – and how we got here. What he does see is that this deepening polarisation isn’t going to go away any time soon. This is not something that just happened 4-5 years ago with the election of Trump to the Whitehouse. This is a process that has been doing on for decades at the very least. Trump is not a cause of the polarisation he is, first and foremost, a result, an outcome, of that polarisation and, unfortunately, he won’t be the final result either. The socio-economic, cultural and historical forces to say nothing of the demographic are very much still in play. It will take decades if not generations for these forces to play themselves out. In the meantime, the US, and by extension the rest of the world, are in for some turbulent times (along with everything else already loose in the world). Hold on to your hats! Definitely of interest to anyone wanting to understand the foundations of the present American political drama. More to come..