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Why are Americans so angry with each other?The United States is caught in a partisan hyperconflict that divides politicians, communities--and even families. Politicians from the president to state and local office-holders play to strongly-held beliefs and sometimes even pour fuel on the resulting inferno. This polarization has become so intense that many people no longer trust anyone from a differing perspective.
List of contents
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Contents:
Preface: Upheaval
1. Mistrust:
The Reagan Revolution
The Clinton Period
Bush and the War on Terror
The Obama Years
Shock and Awe under Trump
2. Economic Frustrations:
The Decline of Agriculture
Lost Manufacturing Jobs
Wage Stagnation and Inequality
A Rise in Public Anger
3. The Decline of Opportunity
Growing Up Poor
Advancement through Education
Obstacles for the Current Generation
Destruction of the American Dream
4. Identity Politics
Conservative Tribalism
Liberal Tribalism
Power Tribalism
Mistrusting Other Tribes
5. Religious Tensions
Fundamentalism
Secularization
Religious Exemptions
6. The Backlash against
Globalization and Immigration
Opening Borders
Cross-Cultural Tensions
Tough Enforcement
Ultranationalism
7. Undue Influence
Overt Corruption
College Admissions
Philanthropy
8. Overcoming Hyperconflict
Widespread Polarization
Diverging Identities
Mistrust and Intolerance
Opponents as Enemies
Political Sorting
The Decline of Facts
Reconciling Differences
Take a Conservative or Liberal to Lunch
Acknowledgments
Notes
Index
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About the author
Darrell M. West is vice president of the Governance Studies program at the Brookings Institution and taught for many years at Brown University. He is the author of The Future of Work: Robots, AI, and Automation; Megachange: Economic Disruption, Political Upheaval, and Social Strife in the 21st Century; and Billionaires: Reflections on the Upper Crust.
Summary
Drawing on his personal story of growing up as a fundamentalist Christian on a dairy farm in rural Ohio, then as an academic in the heart of the liberal East Coast establishment, Darrell West analyses the economic, cultural, and political aspects of polarization.
