Book description
Why our obsession with truth--the idea that some undeniable truth will make politics unnecessary--is driving our political polarization.
In The Divide, Taylor Dotson argues provocatively that what drives political polarization is not our disregard for facts in a post-truth era, but rather our obsession with truth. The idea that some…
Why read it?
1 author picked The Divide as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
I’ve read a lot of books about American political polarization and I think this is one of the best.
Taylor focuses on our tendency to believe we’re in possession of “the truth” (something I’ve long believed is humanity’s main problem). He examines how that tendency leads to people speaking in insulting, condescending ways about their political opponents, and how this amplifies our divides.
Taylor focuses on the certainty here, which I see as part of the broader cycle of conflict: as two groups become polarized, they’re increasingly drawn to simplistic, us-vs-them framings of the people and issues around them. The…
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