Short answer: In the United States, polarization is higher than it’s been in living memory by several key measures, though not necessarily the worst in all of history. Globally, many democracies have also seen rising polarization since the 2000s, but patterns vary by country.
What “worse” can mean:
•Elite polarization (politicians): In Congress, the two parties are more separated on roll-call votes than at any time since the late 19th/early 20th century. There is very little overlap between the parties today.
•Affective polarization (voters’ feelings): Americans’ dislike and distrust of the opposing party are at the highest levels recorded since modern surveys began in the 1970s.
•Ideological polarization (policy views among the public): The average voter has not moved as far apart on many issues as elite polarization suggests. Instead, people have “sorted” so that their party identity, ideology, geography, and social identities now line up more consistently, which intensifies conflict even without huge policy gaps.
Historical perspective (U.S.):
•Compared with the mid-20th century (when parties were ideologically mixed), today is much more polarized.
•Compared with the late 19th century and especially the 1850s–60s (when polarization included widespread political violence and civil war), today’s polarization is severe but not unprecedented.
•The 1960s–70s saw intense social conflict, but it was less strictly partisan because each party had substantial ideological diversity.
Outside the U.S.:
•Many democracies have seen rising affective and party polarization since the 2000s, often linked to media fragmentation, identity politics, populism, and institutional incentives. The degree and consequences differ across countries.
Bottom line: If you mean the contemporary U.S., polarization is near historic highs by modern metrics for politicians and in how partisans feel about each other, even if average policy views haven’t diverged as much. It’s worse than in recent decades, though not necessarily worse than the most polarized periods in U.S. history.
If you have a specific country or timeframe in mind, I can tailor this more precisely.