Is political polarization worse than it's been in the past?

I'll search for current research and data on this topic to give you a well-informed answer.## It's complicated — "yes" by most measures, but with important nuances

The case that it IS worse than in recent memory

Political elites/Congress: On average, Democrats and Republicans are farther apart ideologically today than at any time in the past 50 years. This isn't just perception — both parties have grown more ideologically cohesive, with now only about two dozen moderate Democrats and Republicans left on Capitol Hill, versus more than 160 in 1971-72.

Public opinion since 2008: A major Cambridge study found divisions within the US population on social and political issues have increased by 64% since 1988, with almost all this coming after 2008. Interestingly, polarization almost flatlined during the nineties and noughties, then starting in 2008 – the year of the financial crisis, Obama taking office, and the launch of Apple's App Store and iPhone 3G – divisions across the board steadily rose.

Affective polarization (how much we dislike the other side): This is where the data is most stark. In 1978, the average American rated the members of their own political party 27 points higher than members of the other major party. By 2016, Americans were rating their own party 45.9 points higher than the other party. More recent data shows this trend continuing — between 2016 and 2020, both warm feelings toward one's own party and cold feelings toward the opposition increased even further, with affective polarization jumping from 41 to 52.2 degrees.

International comparison: The U.S. appears to be an outlier. "A lot of analysis on polarization is focused on the U.S., so we thought it could be interesting to put the U.S. in context... We found that the trend in the U.S. is indeed exceptional." A 2024 study confirmed the US has experienced the most rapid growth in affective polarization among the general electorate since 1980 among the 12 OECD countries considered.

Hostility between parties: Pew Research Center polling reveals a sharp rise in partisan hostility: in 2022, 72% of Republicans and 63% of Democrats viewed the opposing party as more immoral than other Americans—up dramatically from 47% and 35% in 2016.

The case for important caveats

Historical context matters: Some scholars push back on the "worst ever" framing. Some political scientists have pointed out that viewed within the context of data from the last two centuries, today's levels of polarization are not such an alarming anomaly compared to those occurring during the time of slavery and other historical flashpoints. Indeed, the Gilded Age of the late 19th century (c. 1870–1900) is considered to be one of the most politically polarized periods in American history, with open political violence and highly polarized political discourse.

Policy positions vs. voting predictability: One nuance often missed — that doesn't mean politicians are farther apart on policy issues than in the past, says Frances Lee... What is often missed are changes in the scope of policy issues over time. In fact, while some measurements suggest more division, what they actually show is simply that the voting behavior of politicians has become more predictable—unlike the bipartisan support for the Civil Rights Act of 1964, today's politicians tend to vote strictly with their party.

Policy disagreement vs. tribal hatred: Research increasingly suggests mass polarization in the United States is less about policy-based division and more about people liking their own political camp and disliking the opposing one. Relatedly, some researchers argue Americans are less polarized than they think, and that there is "significant ideological overlap and agreement on policies." The Cambridge researchers similarly note polarisation in the US can feel much worse than it is... Political groups have moved further apart in recent years, but these divisions are still fuzzy, and Americans are not split into entirely opposing tribes when it comes to the issues.

Where things stand right now (2025)

By multiple measures, polarization indices continue climbing. The Political Polarization Score of United States in 2025 was 2.30 points, up from 1.94 in 2024—growing for two years in a row. Gallup data shows in 2025 the percentage of Americans self-identifying as politically moderate reached a record low of 34%, and in 2025, The Wall Street Journal described the American political system as having "a total breakdown in trust" between the two parties and among the general public.

Bottom line

By most modern measures—especially since the 1970s-1990s baseline most research uses—polarization in the U.S. is genuinely worse, particularly in terms of affective polarization (how much people dislike/distrust the other side) and congressional gridlock. However, if you zoom out to the full sweep of American history, periods like the Civil War era or the Gilded Age arguably featured even more extreme polarization, including actual political violence on a larger scale. So the honest answer is: worse than the post-WWII "consensus" era that many people use as their baseline, but not unprecedented in the full historical record — and some scholars caution that American tribalism is more about emotion/identity than genuine policy disagreement.