Politics & Society

Congressional Polarization

Ideological distance between parties in Congress (DW-NOMINATE scores)

Polarization Index

Key events

Common Claim

“Political polarization accelerated after 1971 as economic stress divided the country.”

What the Data Shows

Polarization began increasing in the late 1970s and accelerated through the 1990s-2010s. The causes are the Southern Strategy, civil rights realignment, media fragmentation, gerrymandering, and campaign finance — not monetary policy.

Perspectives

skeptic

This is a political science story, not an economics story

Polarization was at its LOW in 1965, rose slightly through the 1970s, then accelerated in the 1990s. The drivers are well-documented: party sorting after the Civil Rights Act, the Fairness Doctrine repeal, gerrymandering, and social media. Other fiat-currency democracies (Canada, Germany) are far less polarized.

neutral

Political structural changes, with economic stress as a contributing factor

Economic anxiety can fuel political extremism, and rising inequality may have contributed to polarization. But the causal chain runs through specific political mechanisms (gerrymandering, media, campaign finance), not monetary policy. Countries with similar fiat systems but different political structures show different polarization patterns.

believer

Economic deterioration after 1971 fueled political division

While the direct causes of polarization are political, the underlying conditions were economic. The middle class was hollowed out after 1971 — real wages stagnated, inequality rose, and economic mobility declined. This created the anger and frustration that demagogues channeled into partisan warfare.

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neutral

Political structural changes, with economic stress as a contributing factor

Polarization is primarily driven by party realignment, media changes, and institutional incentives, with economic inequality providing fertile ground.