Haidt and Lukianoff: The Polarization Spiral – by Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff – Persuasion
We now know a lot more about the polarization spiral and who is driving it. The Hidden Tribes study, published in 2018 by the UK-based group More In Common, surveyed 8,000 Americans in December 2017 and used a statistical technique to identify groups of people who had similar core beliefs. They found seven groups. The one furthest to the right they labeled the Devoted Conservatives. This group makes up 6% of the population. Its members are deeply engaged with politics and hold strident, uncompromising views. Devoted conservatives see themselves as the last defenders of traditional values that are under threat from the far left. This group was clearly overrepresented in the attack on the US Capitol in January 2021.
The group furthest to the left were the Progressive Activists. This group, which makes up 8% of the population, is highly sensitive to issues of fairness and equity, particularly with regards to race, gender and other minority group identities. Progressive Activists talk frequently about power structures and how they cause and maintain inequality. They are the most active of all groups on social media. This group is clearly overrepresented in campus protests and in mass marches for progressive causes.
Although the Devoted Conservatives and Progressive Activists make up just 14% of the US population, they wield enormous influence on American political discourse as they passionately express their hatred for each other despite their unexpected similarities. It may not surprise you to learn that the Devoted Conservatives were the whitest of all seven groups (88% white), but would you have expected that the Progressive Activists were the second whitest (80%)? Likewise, it may not surprise you to learn that the Progressive Activists who were the most highly educated reported the highest annual income, but would you have guessed that the second wealthiest group was the Devoted Conservatives?
Of course it could be the “Devoted Conservatives” are right.