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GPT-5Sep 9, 2026openai/gpt-5-2025-08-07
Is political polarization worse than it's been in the past?
Leans yesSays it is contested
Short answer: It depends on what you mean by “polarization” and which country you have in mind. In the United States, several key forms of polarization are at or near modern highs; in other senses, the past has seen worse.
What’s gotten worse (U.S.):
•Elite/legislative polarization: Measures of roll‑call voting in Congress show the two parties are farther apart than at any time since the late 19th century, with almost no ideological overlap between them.
•Affective polarization: Ordinary Americans are much more negative toward the other party than in the 1970s–80s. People are more likely to see the other side as a threat and less willing to socialize or collaborate across party lines.
•Party “sorting”: Liberals are more consistently Democratic and conservatives more consistently Republican than in mid‑20th century America, so partisan identity aligns more tightly with ideology, geography, culture, and media habits.
•Electoral behavior: Split‑ticket voting and competitive districts have declined to historic lows, reinforcing one‑party strongholds.
What hasn’t clearly gotten worse:
•Mass ideological extremity: The public hasn’t become strongly bimodal on most policy issues. Many voters still hold a mix of views, though those views align with party identity more than before.
How this compares to the past:
•Worse today than the mid‑20th century: From roughly the 1940s–1970s, the parties were less ideologically distinct (e.g., conservative Democrats, liberal Republicans), so measured polarization was lower even amid big conflicts (civil rights, Vietnam).
•Comparable to very old eras: By some elite measures, today looks as polarized as the late 1800s/early 1900s. That period also featured intense party separation, though today’s media and social identities make the experience feel different.
Outside the U.S.:
•Many democracies have seen rising affective polarization and party sorting in recent decades, though the pattern isn’t universal and institutional features (like multi‑party systems and electoral rules) can blunt or amplify it.
Bottom line: In the U.S., elite and emotional (affective) polarization are at or near record highs in the modern era; the mass public is more “sorted” by party, but not uniformly more extreme on issues. If you had a specific country or kind of polarization in mind, I can tailor the answer.