In 1978, we rated people who belonged to our party 27 points higher than people who belonged to the other party. Last year a team of researchers published an international study that estimated what’s called “affective polarization,” or the way we feel about the opposite political party. But shortly after recovering from the 2000 recession, this changed, plunging to 20–30 percent over the next decade and then staying there.įinally, academic research confirms what these polls tell us. Normally this hovers around 40–50 percent of the country who think we’re on the right track, with variations depending on how the economy is doing.
Or consider the right track/wrong track poll, every pundit’s favorite. But when Lynn Vavreck, a political science professor at UCLA, asked a similar question a few years ago, 55 percent were opposed to the idea of their children marrying outside their party. Only 28 percent cared one way or the other. Likewise, in 1958 Gallup asked people if they’d prefer their daughter marry a Democrat or a Republican.
And the same is true in reverse for Republicans: The share who intensely dislike Democrats went from 17 percent to 43 percent to about 52 percent. Between 20 it rose to 38 percent and by 2021 it was about 52 percent. From 1994 to 2000, according to the Pew Research Center, only 16 percent of Democrats held a “very unfavorable” view of Republicans, but then these feelings started to climb. When did this all start? Here are a few data points to consider. We are way, way angrier about politics than we used to be, something confirmed by both common experience and formal research. That’s when we start shouting at each other. Unless, of course, the conversation turns to politics. Or your priest or your plumber or your postal carrier. Everyone says so, so it must be true.īut who or what are we angry at? Pandemic stresses aside, I’d bet you’re not especially angry at your family. Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.Īmericans sure are angry these days.
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