Tag: polarization
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America Reads Red
Amazon.com has taken the top 100 "red" and "blue" books and mapped where they were sent in the last thirty days. The map below is a screen capture. Go to the website to see the list of books and use the interactive map: Amazon Election Heat Map 2012. Any thoughts?
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How Science Explains America’s Great Moral Divide
Scientific American: How Science Explains America’s Great Moral Divide Researcher Jonathan Haidt delves into the psychology of red state/blue state, and offers hope for reconciliation. Jonathan Haidt is concerned, like many Americans, with the way our country has become divided and increasingly unable to work together to solve looming threats. Yet, unlike most Americans, he…
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A New Climate-Change Consensus
Wall Street Journal: Fred Krupp: A New Climate-Change Consensus It's time for conservatives to compete with liberals to devise the best, most cost-effective climate solutions. … For too long, the U.S. has had two camps talking past each other on this issue. One camp tended to preach and derided questions about climate science as evidence…
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Youth Turned Off by Religion and Politics, Turn Away From Church
The Christian Post: Youth Turned Off by Religion and Politics, Turn Away From Church … One of the most surprising findings from the data they collected, Campbell said in a March 13 interview with The Christian Post, was that people are driven away or toward religious involvement because of their political leanings. In particular, those…
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The Irrationality of Politics (And Theology?)
This is an excellent TED video about irrationality in politics. One of Michael Huemer's key points is that the cost of rationality is high, with a minimal reward for rationality. I would also add that there is frequently a high reward for irrationality in the form of peer bonding and a sense of belonging to…
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One nation, divisible
Economist: One nation, divisible As America undergoes dramatic, uneven changes, it may become harder to govern. AMERICA is getting used to political upheaval. Barack Obama’s election was, to many voters, a moment of transformation. His first two years, many others lamented, brought a dangerous expansion of government; now the right has arisen again. The new…
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The Big Sort: Why the Clustering of Like-Minded America is Tearing us Apart
Today I'm initiating a series of posts on The Big Sort: Why the Clustering of Like-Minded America is Tearing us Apart. This book was published last year by journalist Bill Bishop and relies heavily on statistical analysis provided by retired University of Texas sociologist Robert G. Cushing. Their conclusions are somewhat controversial, but I believe…