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September/October 2004 Living Now
Exploring the Dynamics of Polarization

by Tom Atlee

When we encounter people who are significantly different from us, do we see them as stereotypes or as unique individuals? Do we treat them as threats or as fellows?

Treating each other respectfully is the basic idea behind calls for "civility" and the new dignitarian movement (www.dignitarians.org). Treating each other respectfully and with an open mind and heart not only allows us all to feel welcome in the world we share, but allows us to find more comprehensive truths together by understanding the puzzle-pieces each of us holds so we can discover a bigger, richer picture than each of us originally saw.

Polarization makes it hard to do that. Polarization is "the increasing concentration of groups, forces or interests around two conflicting or contrasting positions: Us and Them; the right way and the wrong way. One of the most fundamental ways of framing political polarization is "Left vs. Right." These terms are designed to organize forces for political battle more than for greater human understanding.

If we wish to reduce polarization, it is vital that we distinguish between people – ourselves and others – and the ideologies and positions we've all gotten attached to, so that we can come together as fellow citizens to figure out the relative truth and usefulness of various ideas and options. To do this, we need to see ourselves as citizens and people first, and partisans second.

This is not to say that things don't look different to each of us. They do. But those differences can be assets if we can learn to see our diverse views as resources instead of sides of a battle, and notice that we simultaneously share a lot of common ground. It is likely that the issues are defined more by individual viewpoints than by the conglomerate positions of Left and Right. To the extent we have well-designed and well-run deliberations which help us use our differences creatively in light of our common ground, we will free ourselves from those polarized prisons of Left and Right and discover the power of our uniqueness and our shared creativity.

But most of us seldom experience such remarkable conversations. More often than not, we are trapped in – and blinded by – this manipulated narrative called "Left vs. Right" that's designed to make us feel like heroes in an epic of Good vs. Evil. It keeps us from seeing each other, from recognizing potential allies, from talking with each other or treating each other like the decent human beings most of us are. Most importantly, it keeps us from coming together to free our minds and hearts to create a society and world that work for all.

Are These Categories of "Left" and "Right" – Liberal and Conservative – As Clearcut as they Seem?

Certainly when we consider broad outlines, we can see clear differences between categories like liberals and conservatives, whites and blacks, Christians and Jews. But these differences pale in comparison to their similarities and common interests – to say nothing of the vast diversity we find within each group, and the vast number of people who fall outside either one. Polarization begins when we lose sight of this and believe such groups are homogeneous, mutually exclusive, and intrinsically good (or evil).

In reality they are far from homogeneous. Most conservatives are not rich, and most liberals are not blue collar union men. Most liberals are neither less rational nor more empathic than the average conservative. There are racists, xenophobes and culturally sensitive people on both sides. Many liberals are pro-Life. Many conservatives are pro-Choice. The ACLU and the American Conservative Union (ACU) are working together against the Patriot Act. At the same time, certain other people from both the Left and the Right fight for greater respect for authority and greater powers for the Federal Government. Clearly there is vast diversity within each worldview and vast common ground among members of every "side" – realities that become hidden as polarization heats up.

Left and Right parties tend to "find it expedient to adopt opposing sides."¹ In this strategic polarization, the Left and the Right claim for themselves certain archetypal polar values. But most Americans (and many other people across the political spectrum) value BOTH of those supposed polar opposites. Most people want order AND freedom, individual rights AND social justice; policies that are rational AND compassionate; a healthy economy AND a healthy environment; individual success AND the common good.

They believe individuals should be responsible AND they believe social policies and programs can support or undermine people's chances AND they believe disadvantaged people should not be neglected. They don't believe we should have to choose between national security, on the one hand, and peace and liberty on the other. People of all persuasions suspect concentrations of power and wealth, but they don't want to stifle entrepreneurial creativity with too much regulation. They think soldiers should be respected, but so should protesters. They feel a strong sense of patriotism, but don't want America to be an empire dominating the world. And most have serious concerns about the state of American democracy. Any reasonably open-minded examination will find vast common ground across the lines of division we have painted between us.

It isn't that there's no difference between Left and Right. It's just that reality is more complex than that oversimplified spectrum makes us believe. As the Lets Talk America program (www.letstalkamerica.org) motto suggests:

"What if what unites us is more than we realize, and what divides us is less than we fear?"

How the Dark Side of Polarization Reproduces Itself

Our polarized failure to see the nuanced, complex reality about our collective beliefs and kinship is seriously impeding our ability to meet the challenges of the 21st Century – and degrading our humanity at the same time. It tricks us into dehumanizing the other side. It supports the ugly side of us all, feeding our mutual ignorance, and undermines our society's ability to reach high quality decisions, solutions and initiatives.

Polarization supports people and systems that benefit from our alienation from our fellows – people and systems that seek to manipulate us all, dividing and conquering our communities and our nation for the power and profit of the few. To the extent that we buy into the false spectrum of Left and Right, our leaders can manipulate us into not relating to people on the other side at all, so that we soon know so little about them that we will believe Anything we hear or read. Polarization begets greater polarization. As Abraham Lincoln so wisely pointed out, "A house divided against itself cannot stand." We can help keep our house united by recognizing all the different parts that serve to make it functional, strong and interesting.

The Dynamics of Polarization in a Majoritarian Democracy

One of my saddest realizations in researching polarization was that majoritarianism itself –one of the fundamental principles of republican democracy – is an engine of polarization.

Although majority rule is a giant step beyond dictatorship, it has several dangerous side-effects. The U.S. founding fathers recognized and addressed one of them – the power of majorities to oppress minorities. They attempted to handle that by limiting concentrated governmental power and protected the rights of states, individuals and associations. That at least provided tools for later generations to continually address the problem.

Unfortunately, the founders of the U.S. did not also set things up to limit the tendency of majoritarianism to split the "house" of democracy in two. Here's how it works:

In a majoritarian democracy a proposal wins or someone is considered legitimately elected if they get over 50% of the votes. It is harder to get over 50% in a field of three or more options than in a field with only two options. So in an effort to get over 50% people gather primarily into two parties. To solidify the power of those parties, partisans voluntarily or forcefully suppress complexity and diversity (the full range of information, perspectives, options, etc.) so there always seem to be only two opposing alternatives for everyone to rally around.

The other side is painted as powerful and united – so that "we" must be (or at least SEEM to be) just as powerful and united. Therefore, no public dissent among us is allowed (regardless of the actual diversity among us). The more extreme each side's views get, the more they think that the media, government, academia, etc., are controlled by the other side – which, in turn, feeds even more extreme views and actions in an effort to have some impact on the monolith partisans think they face. (In many cases we might more accurately view these institutions as controlled by interests that aren't on the political spectrum, per se, but who use ideological conflict to manipulate populations or the policy apparatus for non-ideological power and profit.)

In summary, whatever reality Left and Right have gets solidified into dangerous polarization by our majoritarian system and those who benefit from our mutual isolation. Polarization grows through "reinforcing feedback dynamics". People are fed stereotypes, which makes them not want to reach across the divides, which leads to no contact and fear of the other side, which strengthens partisan solidarity, etc. The cycle repeats, generating more and more alienation.

Moving Beyond the Left/Right Trance

The solution to all this is not to set aside all our differences. The solution is to sort out our real individual differences from the artificial, overly generalized dichotomies of polarization – and then to bring those real differences into respectful, creative dialogue that honors our common ground and seeks mutual benefit and the common good. We can break out of this Left/Right trance. We can support bridge-building conversations and move ahead together towards positive social change.

None of this means we should stop our currently partisan work for the world. There is no reason we can't do it all. That is, we can Simultaneously fight for our respective sides and honor the right of (and need for) all views to be heard. We will wake up, more and more, to the fact that we are all in this together. We will learn, step by step, how to generate the collective wisdom, will and action needed to create a decent world together where our children can all live well together for endless generations to come. May we find such wisdom to pass on to them that they can build on and pass on to their children.

Tom Atlee is founder of The Co-Intelligence Institute, PO Box 493, Eugene, OR 97440, www.co-intelligence.org. He is author of The Tao of Democracy: Using Co-Intelligence to Create a World That Works for All www.taoofdemocracy.com.