The Divided States of America: How Political Polarization Is Threatening Democracy

Matt Motyl, assistant professor of psychology at the University of Illinois at Chicago and co-director of CivilPolitics.org, presented research on rising political polarization in the United States. He traced incivility from the 1960 election through the 2016 Trump-Clinton campaign, reviewed data on congressional voting, geographic and media segregation, and differing moral intuitions among liberals and conservatives, then proposed remedies including redistricting reform, campaign finance limits, changes to the congressional schedule, and cross-partisan relationships. A lengthy audience discussion followed.