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

Both sidesSays it is contested

Political Polarization: Historical Context

This is genuinely debated among historians and political scientists, with reasonable arguments on different sides.

Evidence it's worse now:

•Measures of affective polarization (dislike/distrust of the opposing party's voters) have risen sharply in the US since the 1990s

•Straight-ticket voting and party-line congressional votes have increased

•Cross-party marriage, friendship, and even willingness to live near opposing partisans has declined

•Media fragmentation has reduced shared factual baselines in ways that differ from the past

Evidence for historical perspective:

•The US has seen far more violent polarization: the Civil War, of course, but also 1960s-70s political violence (assassinations, bombings, riots) was arguably more severe than today

•Elite-level polarization in Congress dipped notably in the mid-20th century (a relatively unusual era of bipartisan overlap), so today's polarization partly reflects a return toward historically normal levels of party divergence

•Harsh partisan rhetoric, contested elections, and accusations of illegitimacy go back to the founding era (Adams vs. Jefferson was brutal)

What's more clearly true:

•What's unusual now isn't necessarily the level of elite/ideological disagreement, but the combination of high affective polarization with relatively low policy differentiation on some issues, plus asymmetric distrust of institutions

•Some dynamics do seem more novel: the degree to which polarization tracks identity/culture rather than just economic interest, and the role of social media in amplifying outrage

Bottom line: By some measures (violence, constitutional crises) polarization has been worse historically. By other measures (partisan animosity, distrust, media segregation) current levels are unusually high for the post-WWII era specifically, though less so compared to the 19th century.

What angle are you most interested in—US-specific, global comparisons, or a particular time period?

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

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