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Why We're Polarized Hardcover – Illustrated, January 28, 2020
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One of Bill Gates’s “5 books to read this summer,” this New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller shows us that America’s political system isn’t broken. The truth is scarier: it’s working exactly as designed. In this “superbly researched” (The Washington Post) and timely book, journalist Ezra Klein reveals how that system is polarizing us—and how we are polarizing it—with disastrous results.
“The American political system—which includes everyone from voters to journalists to the president—is full of rational actors making rational decisions given the incentives they face,” writes political analyst Ezra Klein. “We are a collection of functional parts whose efforts combine into a dysfunctional whole.”
“A thoughtful, clear and persuasive analysis” (The New York Times Book Review), Why We’re Polarized reveals the structural and psychological forces behind America’s descent into division and dysfunction. Neither a polemic nor a lament, this book offers a clear framework for understanding everything from Trump’s rise to the Democratic Party’s leftward shift to the politicization of everyday culture.
America is polarized, first and foremost, by identity. Everyone engaged in American politics is engaged, at some level, in identity politics. Over the past fifty years in America, our partisan identities have merged with our racial, religious, geographic, ideological, and cultural identities. These merged identities have attained a weight that is breaking much in our politics and tearing at the bonds that hold this country together.
Klein shows how and why American politics polarized around identity in the 20th century, and what that polarization did to the way we see the world and one another. And he traces the feedback loops between polarized political identities and polarized political institutions that are driving our system toward crisis.
“Well worth reading” (New York magazine), this is an “eye-opening” (O, The Oprah Magazine) book that will change how you look at politics—and perhaps at yourself.
- Print length336 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherAvid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster
- Publication dateJanuary 28, 2020
- Dimensions6 x 1.1 x 9 inches
- ISBN-10147670032X
- ISBN-13978-1476700328
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"Why We’re Polarized delivers. . . . What Klein adds especially to [is] our understanding of how we got here—why Trump is more a vessel for our division than the cause, and why his departure will not provide any magical cure. . . . A thoughtful, clear and persuasive analysis.” —Norman Ornstein, New York Times Book Review
"Superbly researched and written . . . Why We’re Polarized provides a highly useful guide to this most central of political puzzles, digesting mountains of social science research and presenting it in an engaging form. . . . An overall outstanding volume." —Francis Fukuyama, The Washington Post
"Brilliant and wide-ranging. A book about what just might be our central, perhaps fatal problem. This is the kind of book you find yourself arguing with out loud as you read it and will stick in your head long after you've finished. Absolutely crucial for understanding this perilous moment." —Chris Hayes, host of “All In with Chris Hayes” on MSNBC and author of A Colony in a Nation
“Klein’s careful book explains how different groups of Americans can see politics through such different lenses, examining how various psychological mechanisms allow committed partisans to rationalize almost anything their party does. . . . This book fully displays the attributes that have made Klein’s journalism so successful.” —Dan Hopkins, Washington Post
“Eye-opening . . . Klein’s brilliant diagnosis and prescription provide a path to understanding—and healing.” —O Magazine
“A fascinating book, rich in politics, history, psychology and more.” —David Leonhardt, New York Times
“Well worth reading.” —Andrew Sullivan, New York magazine
"Ezra Klein's new book somehow reads as if it were written after the election. For anyone concerned about how polarized we have become—and why—this book is for you." —Andrew Yang, author of The War on Normal People
"Klein writes captivatingly well. Reading Why we’re Polarized is like having a conversation with a brilliant, extremely persuasive friend who has read everything and who is armed with scores of studies that he’s able to distill into accessible bites." —Amy Chua, Foreign Affairs
“Even at his most wonky, a deep strain of humanism runs through [Klein’s] journalism and that infuses his new book, Why We’re Polarized.” —Krista Tippett, On Being
"In this thoughtful exploration of American politics, Ezra Klein challenges the conventional wisdom about why and how recently we've come apart, and suggests that the fantasy of some unified American middle is perhaps at odds with the ongoing fight for truly representational politics. Why We're Polarized makes the compelling case that the centuries-long battle to perfect our union means we were built to be split; Klein's provocative question is whether America's democratic systems and institutions can bear up under the weight of our divides." —Rebecca Traister, New York Times bestselling author of Good and Mad
“Something has gone terribly wrong with American politics in the last decade or so, and Klein gives us the clearest and most comprehensive analysis I have seen. He shows how we entered the realm of political ‘mega identity politics,’ and how feedback loops between our tribal psychology and our rapidly evolving media ecosystem may be driving our democracy over a cliff. The book reviews so many studies that in lesser hands it would earn the label ‘wonkish,’ but Klein’s writing is so good that it is a joy to read, even as you experience a range of negative emotions from what you are reading.” —Jonathan Haidt, Thomas Cooley Professor of Ethical Leadership, New York University—Stern School of Business, author of The Righteous Mind, Co-author of The Coddling of the American Mind
“A sharp explanation of how American politics has become so discordant . . . Deeply insightful . . . A clear, useful guide through the current chaotic political landscape.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“A timely, thought-provoking debut . . . This precise and persuasive guide helps to make sense of the current state of American politics. . . . Political junkies as well as general readers will learn from his analysis of the U.S. media landscape.” —Publishers Weekly
“Klein’s accessible work is for anyone wondering how we got here; it shows how understanding history can help us plan for the future. . . . By combining political history with social commentary, this book will retain relevancy.” —Library Journal
“By weaving together a composite of group psychological theory and political history in the trademark, rigorously logical style of Vox’s Explainer series, journalism, Klein traces the path of polarization from a time when the Republican and Democratic parties were virtually indistinguishable from each other to today.” —Emma Levy, Seattle Times
"It's been a long time since I learned so much from one book. [Klein] shows just how broken the American political system is." —Rutger Bregman, author of Utopia for Realist
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster; Illustrated edition (January 28, 2020)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 336 pages
- ISBN-10 : 147670032X
- ISBN-13 : 978-1476700328
- Item Weight : 1.26 pounds
- Dimensions : 6 x 1.1 x 9 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #60,116 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #27 in Political Parties (Books)
- #174 in Political Conservatism & Liberalism
- #179 in Political Commentary & Opinion
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
Ezra Klein is the editor-at-large and cofounder of Vox, the award-winning explanatory news organization. Launched in 2014, Vox reaches over 50 million people across its platforms each month. Klein is also the host of the podcast The Ezra Klein Show, cohost of the Weeds podcast, and an executive producer on Vox’s Netflix show, Explained. Previously, Klein was a columnist and editor at The Washington Post, a policy analyst at MSNBC, and a contributor to Bloomberg. He’s written for The New Yorker and The New York Review of Books, and appeared on Face the Nation, The Daily Show, PBS NewsHour, and many more.
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Customers find the book provides insightful and enlightening analysis into the current political climate. They describe it as a thorough, well-researched, and readable book that details its findings in a digestible way. Readers find the writing engaging and balanced. The book explores identity politics and the role of identity in human behavior, with an interesting discussion on white political identity.
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Customers find the book insightful and thought-provoking. They say it provides a thoughtful analysis of America's polarized political climate. The book generates good discussions about politics and polarization, weaving together social science and group psychology studies with an astute reading of political science.
"Ezra Klein’s Why We’re Polarized is an enlightening, smart and thought provoking look at how America, and its 2 main political parties, got so..." Read more
"...It examines studies that had surprising results. It’s not necessarily intelligence or lack of it that motivates polarization...." Read more
"...It implicates capitalism and geography, politicians and political institutions, human psychology and America’s changing demography.”" Read more
"...Through rigorous analysis and engaging storytelling, this book unveils the psychological, social, and structural factors fueling our increasingly..." Read more
Customers find the book readable and worth reading. They say it's an unbiased, thoughtful read that helps put our current issues in perspective. The book is described as captivating and should be read by all Americans.
"...It puts things in perspective. I like the book. It tackles an interesting subject while making it understandable." Read more
"...I thoroughly enjoy his podcast, even when I disagree with something in the conversation...." Read more
"...Overall, this is an excellent book except for the concluding chapter, which in my opinion offers unrealistic and naive suggestions that, as far as I..." Read more
"...Maybe Klein doesn’t particularly think that’s possible. Who knows. Decent read." Read more
Customers find the book readable and engaging. They appreciate the clear explanations and details for even the layman. The author does an excellent job explaining history, demographics, causes, and analyses of current issues. Overall, readers say it helps them understand how complicated things are and the many different issues affecting our current political climate.
"...Overall I found the book well written, eye opening and engaging...." Read more
"...I think he goes a long way in describing the polarization in American politics. A lot of it is identity politics. Group think...." Read more
"...unveils the psychological, social, and structural factors fueling our increasingly polarized landscape!..." Read more
"In this Review: The key finding. Why 5 stars? Brief synopsis by chapter. What’s missing? And where to find it...." Read more
Customers find the book thought-provoking and well-presented. They appreciate the enlightening, smart, and useful look at America's political model. The research and experiments are presented clearly, and the book weaves nuance into flowing prose that is intellectually curious.
"Ezra Klein’s Why We’re Polarized is an enlightening, smart and thought provoking look at how America, and its 2 main political parties, got so..." Read more
"...out the scientific evidence so clearly, and the experiments he draws on are so well-designed, that there’s no room for doubt...." Read more
"...book except for the concluding chapter, which in my opinion offers unrealistic and naive suggestions that, as far as I can see, have no demonstrable..." Read more
"...Ezra Klein's book was all of those things, as well as a useful look at his model of our current political polarization and the research he did to..." Read more
Customers find the book's take on identity politics fascinating. They appreciate its clear explanation of the role of identity in human behavior and how our political system is structured. The book provides an interesting discussion on white political identity, tribalism, and the conquest of party identity over other identities. It also explains well how cultures and politics are intertwined. Readers appreciate the author's reflective and honest approach to his own beliefs.
"...There is an interesting discussion on white political identity, which emerges in periods of threat and challenges, and how racial resentment fuels..." Read more
"This book is about tribalism and the conquest of party identity over any other identity...." Read more
"Stitching together social sciences and group psychology studies with an astute reading of political events, Klein composes a clear picture of how..." Read more
"...I really appreciated his take on “mega-identities” and how those are triggered now in a multitude of ways, as well as his identification of the..." Read more
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Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2020Ezra Klein’s Why We’re Polarized is an enlightening, smart and thought provoking look at how America, and its 2 main political parties, got so polarized.
Klein explores several key narratives including the psychology of group think and identity; a nation that has increasingly sorted itself geographically and ideologically; the nationalization of news and politics; the decline of local and regional news; a declining and enraged power elite of white, aging, Christians; a 50 year campaign by reactionaries to create a culture war based on grievances and abstractions, and a 24/7 cable news and talk radio cycle that exists to stoke division and get attention for itself.
The book begins with the story about a group of political scientists in the late 1950s who proposed that the two parties, Democrats and Republicans, were too similar and that the public is better served with a less homogenous and more polarized party system.
Klein then delves into some studies around evolutionary psychology, social science, group allegiance and self identity. He presents several example studies of how easily humans sort into us vs them group loyalty and how group identity is stronger than ideology or reason. He cites several studies that prove that fear and hate of out-groups is more powerful than loyalty to your in-group.
He then argues that Trump is not an anomaly but rather a natural outgrowth of the Republican movement of the past 40 years. A party whose power is increasingly reliant on a declining white, aging, conservative, Christian demographic which is terrified of losing power and privilege. “When you're accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression”.
Trump’s latching onto grievances of race and political correctness fulfill a fearful minority’s fantasies of restoration and renewal.
Klein explores how the electorate was more ideologically similar across parties 50 years ago when ticket splitting was more common and compromises easier to forge. There were also more diverse cross sections of cultural difference within each party. That changed with the civil rights act of 1964 when the southern Democrat “Dixiecrats” moved to the Republican party under the nomination of Barry Goldwater who was opposed to the act. Yes, polarization has a lot to do with racism.
The geographic sorting of the nation which began in the 1960s and accelerated in the 1990s concentrated older, white Americans into the exurbs and the younger, better educated, more diverse Americans into the suburbs and cities. This phenomenon gave the Republicans an opportunity to better target their constituents and create identity narratives that weren’t about compromise and cooperation, but rather grievance and fear of the other side.
Democrats grew their portion of the electorate by maintaining a strong sense of diversity and compromise but were disadvantaged because of disproportionate Senate representation in rural states. So as younger Americans began concentrating in cities, their political power weakened as a result of Senate rules, gerrymandering and the electoral college.
Over the past 20 years, political campaign demographers began re-defining the dividing line between Republican vs Democrat - those living in areas with less than 900 people per square mile leaned Republican, and areas with more than 900 people per square mile leaned Democrat. In Jonathan's Haidt's book The Righteous Mind - he called it the Whole Foods vs Cracker Barrel divide. Where you ate or shopped for groceries became a bigger indicator of your political party than income, education or many other traditional metrics.
Klein then discusses the explosion of cable news and the decline of local reporting. This elevated national politics and politicians which made obsolete the old adage - all politics is local. This also forced politicians to devalue compromise and promote winner-take-all mindsets. This had a greater effect on the Republican party being their constituents were a declining electorate.
Dems also rely on a much broader set of news sources, not one source exceeding 15% of their total news consumption, whereas Repubs rely almost exclusively on Fox News and a few similar reinforcers in talk radio. This leads to a Republican party with a more narrow and homogenous view of the world and reinforces the concept of group identity and grievance.
Klein argues that the Republican party is well aware of its demographic challenges - the average white American is 58 years old, the average black American 27, the average Asian American - 29, the average Hispanic American - 11! This reality forced the Republican party to re-evaulate their strategies during GW Bush’s first term with compassionate conservatism, outreach to black and latino voters, immigration reform and other shifts. But with Obama’s election, the extreme wing of the right pursued more aggressive and desperate measures to slow the tide (Tea Party). Then along came Trump, who saw an opportunity to exploit that fear and be the fighter that they needed all along. Even evangelical Christians rationalized their support of a clearly immoral nominee by believing that in these desperate times they needed a street fighter to bring the America they grew up in back. Make America Great - Again.
Klein also proposes that the gradual weakening of parties and the growth of partisanship is another reason for our current polarization. Back in the day, prior to the caucus and primary process, party officials had more influence in selecting their candidates (smoke filled back rooms) - Klein believes that a candidate like Trump would have never gotten near the Republican nomination. We’ve flipped from a system that selected candidates who were broadly appealing to party officials to a system that selects candidates who are adored by base voters (primary voters).
Klein also defends PAC money which he says promotes moderates, while individual donations promote polarization and extremists. Individual donors want to fall in love or express their hate. Institutional donors are more pragmatic - they want moderates who can get things done.
Klein proposes a set of possible solutions to our current polarization including:
Eliminate the filibuster - which allows the minority to hamstring the majority
Get rid of the Electoral College
Control gerrymandering - promote proportional representation
Consider Ranked Choice voting
Have electoral zones represented by multiple members of congress
Make 3rd parties viable
Give Wash DC and Puerto Rico congressional representation / statehood
Make voting easier, not harder
Klein believes that with these changes the Republican party will be forced to adapt, modernize, be more competitive and less reliant on outrage, culture wars and electorate map manipulations.
Overall I found the book well written, eye opening and engaging. It follows other books I’ve read in this genre including Bill Bishop’s The Big Sort, Jon Meacham’s The Soul of America and Jonathan Judis’s The Populist Explosion. I felt the book lost its way a bit towards the end when the author was struggling to figure out how to wrap up his thesis and propose solutions. But in the end, Klein did tie up his loose ends and finished with a sensible set of policy proposals.
Highly recommended!
- Reviewed in the United States on December 1, 2024I have read a number of books on the subject but none come close to being as insightful and concise as this one. It is a must read if you want to understand where we are in the US and how we got there.
- Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2024The title of this review is part of what Ezra Klein explains in this book.
I think he goes a long way in describing the polarization in American politics.
A lot of it is identity politics. Group think.
One of my favorite sections was “ How politics makes smart people stupid”. It examines studies that had surprising results. It’s not necessarily intelligence or lack of it that motivates polarization.
He addresses the media and its effects on tribalism.
One of the strongest parts of “ Why Were Polarized” is found in the last pages where the author contrasts recent political history with the past. It puts things in perspective.
I like the book. It tackles an interesting subject while making it understandable.
- Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2020When you look at who voted for Republican candidates for president among previous elections, you find that the figures for men, women, white voters, Hispanic voters, born-again Christians, and self-identified Republicans is not much different from one election to another including the 2016 election. The author finds that voters treated Trump just as if he were another Republican, and this speaks to the enormous weight party polarization now exerts on politics today. In this book we learn how American politics became a toxic system and what it means for our future. To be clear the author states that this is a book about systems not people.
In the first part of the book we are told the story about how and why American politics polarized around identity. The Democratic and Republican Parties have changed. We are seeing something genuinely new. We see something called “negative partisanship,” where partisan behavior is driven not by positive feelings for one’s own party, but by negative feelings toward the opposing party.
Looking back through history, we learn of the power of the southern Democrats and their effect on the Democratic Party and why the Republicans didn’t become the party of civil rights. There is a distinction made between sorting verses polarization, and how polarization begets polarization, yet it doesn’t beget extremism as a study of extremism in American politics of the past demonstrates. As polarization increases through time, we see rural areas and counties going Republican and the urban areas going Democratic. An interesting point is made about how human beings have evolved to exist in groups. We clearly see this in how people take sides in sports teams – “they harness primal instincts that pulse through our psyche.” Today, how we feel matters more than what we think, and in elections, it is our feelings about the other side that holds sway – negative partisanship rears its head. Politicians know that you just don’t need support, you need anger.
The author goes on to discuss the psychology behind how people think politically. We are introduced to things such as “science comprehension thesis,” “identity-protective cognition,” and “motivated reasoning.” There is an interesting discussion on white political identity, which emerges in periods of threat and challenges, and how racial resentment fuels economic anxiety. So in the first half of the book, the author tried to “build a model of what’s driven American politics into its current place of bitter polarization.” The second half is “about the relationship between a more polarized public and more polarized political institutions.”
An interesting point made is that the more interested people were in politics, the more political media they consumed, the more mistaken they were about the other party. We see how an audience-driven media is actually an identitarian media. We end up with this echo chamber theory of polarization. We allow ourselves to hear only what information informs us of how right we are, and this makes us more extreme. We see the news media becoming the most powerful actor in politics today. The media is biased not so much toward left or right ideology, but toward the loud, outrageous, colorful, inspirational, and confrontational. It is biased toward the political stories that activate our identities.
Concerning presidential campaign strategies, we see a shift toward a stronger emphasis on base mobilization instead of trying to persuade undecided voters. How did a candidate such as our current president get elected – weak parties and strong partisanship. Such a win would have been impossible in the strong party system of fifty years ago. We can see this weakness in the parties in the 2016 primaries, where only 30 percent of eligible voters voted. All of this makes for a political system vulnerable to demagogues. Not only that, but if a political party decides to take a path to governing that involves retaking the majority and not working with the existing majority, the incentives transform. “Instead of cultivating a good relationship with your colleagues across the aisle, you need to destroy them, because you need to convince the voters to destroy them, too.” The author also offers come insights into the difference between Democrats and Republicans, the former offering a more transactionalist approach (needing to appeal to whites, nonwhites, liberals, moderates, fixed, fluid), the latter being more ideological and homogenous (more akin to a group identity actually). We also see differences in the media institutions each side uses as an information source. Democrats rely on a diversity of information sources while the Republicans rely on a narrower set of media institutions, which propel their polarization. One salient point that stuck with me was the thought that America is not really a democracy. We have a political system “built around geographic units, all of which privilege sparse, rural areas over dense, urban ones.”
The author has shown us clearly here in this book that “the polarization we see around us is the logical outcome of a complex system of incentives, technologies, identities, and political institutions. It implicates capitalism and geography, politicians and political institutions, human psychology and America’s changing demography.”
- Reviewed in the United States on April 9, 2024'Why We Are Polarized' is a compelling exploration of the deep-rooted societal forces driving political division in America. Through rigorous analysis and engaging storytelling, this book unveils the psychological, social, and structural factors fueling our increasingly polarized landscape! From the rise of identity politics to the role of media fragmentation, it offers valuable insights into how and why polarization has become a defining feature of contemporary politics.
Top reviews from other countries
- NatashaReviewed in Brazil on October 3, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars Very clear, thanks a lot
As a Brazilian living in US, this book worked as a manual for me to understand what is going on in the country and what is behind people’s thoughts, feelings and reactions. Very in depth analysis into human behavior and also American political structure. I strongly recommend.
- RamReviewed in Spain on August 29, 2022
5.0 out of 5 stars Simply amazing, masterful, insightful, transformational
Some books change the way you think, I think this one will do that to me.
The book teaches the reader how to understand the way people think and reacts to politics. No less. It uses scores of studies, research papers, anecdotes and history as well.
He manages to keep thinks fairly objective across most of the book. In the last part he explains his own political point of view (liberal) and tries to sketch some solutions to the current political situation in the US.
A treat. And a must.
Congratulations and thank you, Mr Klein.
- Alex sReviewed in the United Kingdom on August 16, 2022
5.0 out of 5 stars Explanation to political absurdity
This book explains partisan politics wonderfully. Reading from the UK and it has as much relevance here as the US.
- KBReviewed in Canada on August 15, 2020
5.0 out of 5 stars Literally the Best Book I’ve Read on the Causes of the Current U.S. Political Environment
Over the last four years, I’ve read more than twenty books trying to obtain an understanding of the causes of today’s political environment in the U.S. Ezra Klein’s book is by far the best. The author has done considerable research and has written a comprehensive analysis on how we got to where we are in the era of Trump. He has a very entertaining and relaxed style of writing that makes the book an easy read despite the disturbing topic.
- Christian RiedhammerReviewed in Germany on October 24, 2020
5.0 out of 5 stars A thoughtful historical and psychological explanation for polarization trends in the US.
A recommendable read ahead of the 2020 US presidential election, „Why We‘re Polarized“ by Ezra Klein. Klein kicks his book off with an in Europe widely overlooked fact: the 2016 US presidential election was nothing extraordinary. In 2004, 55% of men voted for the Republican party compared to 52% both in 2008 and 2012. Donald Trump also got 52% of votes in 2016. Despite Trump‘s sexistic quotes and sexual miscounduct allegations, 41% of women voted for him (and so did the majority of white female voters). John McCain and Mitt Romney got similar numbers in 2012 and 2016. What‘s important to American voters is not the faith in their own candidate but the negative emotions about the party they reject. That voter’s behavior was actually completely different untill 1950. Back then the American Political Science Association called on Democrats and Republicans to become more distinguishable from each other, claiming voters were at a loss whom to vote for and why. Klein explains how race, religion, geograpy and class have become indicators that can easily be applied to predict towards which party one leans to and how Donald Trump made it to highjack the Republican party.
All in all, Klein delivers a thoughtful historical and psychological explanation for polarization trends in the US.