The Polarizers

Postwar Architects of Our Partisan Era

Nonfiction, History, Americas, United States, 20th Century, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science
Cover of the book The Polarizers by Sam Rosenfeld, University of Chicago Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Sam Rosenfeld ISBN: 9780226407395
Publisher: University of Chicago Press Publication: December 28, 2017
Imprint: University of Chicago Press Language: English
Author: Sam Rosenfeld
ISBN: 9780226407395
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Publication: December 28, 2017
Imprint: University of Chicago Press
Language: English

Even in this most partisan and dysfunctional of eras, we can all agree on one thing: Washington is broken. Politicians take increasingly inflexible and extreme positions, leading to gridlock, partisan warfare, and the sense that our seats of government are nothing but cesspools of hypocrisy, childishness, and waste. The shocking reality, though, is that modern polarization was a deliberate project carried out by Democratic and Republican activists.

In The Polarizers, Sam Rosenfeld details why bipartisanship was seen as a problem in the postwar period and how polarization was then cast as the solution. Republicans and Democrats feared that they were becoming too similar, and that a mushy consensus imperiled their agendas and even American democracy itself. Thus began a deliberate move to match ideology with party label—with the toxic results we now endure. Rosenfeld reveals the specific politicians, intellectuals, and operatives who worked together to heighten partisan discord, showing that our system today is not (solely) a product of gradual structural shifts but of deliberate actions motivated by specific agendas. Rosenfeld reveals that the story of Washington’s transformation is both significantly institutional and driven by grassroots influences on both the left and the right.

The Polarizers brilliantly challenges and overturns our conventional narrative about partisanship, but perhaps most importantly, it points us toward a new consensus: if we deliberately created today’s dysfunctional environment, we can deliberately change it.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Even in this most partisan and dysfunctional of eras, we can all agree on one thing: Washington is broken. Politicians take increasingly inflexible and extreme positions, leading to gridlock, partisan warfare, and the sense that our seats of government are nothing but cesspools of hypocrisy, childishness, and waste. The shocking reality, though, is that modern polarization was a deliberate project carried out by Democratic and Republican activists.

In The Polarizers, Sam Rosenfeld details why bipartisanship was seen as a problem in the postwar period and how polarization was then cast as the solution. Republicans and Democrats feared that they were becoming too similar, and that a mushy consensus imperiled their agendas and even American democracy itself. Thus began a deliberate move to match ideology with party label—with the toxic results we now endure. Rosenfeld reveals the specific politicians, intellectuals, and operatives who worked together to heighten partisan discord, showing that our system today is not (solely) a product of gradual structural shifts but of deliberate actions motivated by specific agendas. Rosenfeld reveals that the story of Washington’s transformation is both significantly institutional and driven by grassroots influences on both the left and the right.

The Polarizers brilliantly challenges and overturns our conventional narrative about partisanship, but perhaps most importantly, it points us toward a new consensus: if we deliberately created today’s dysfunctional environment, we can deliberately change it.

More books from University of Chicago Press

Cover of the book Partisans and Partners by Sam Rosenfeld
Cover of the book Accounting for Capitalism by Sam Rosenfeld
Cover of the book Object Lessons by Sam Rosenfeld
Cover of the book The Graduate Advisor Handbook by Sam Rosenfeld
Cover of the book Democracy and Trade Policy in Developing Countries by Sam Rosenfeld
Cover of the book Under the Kapok Tree by Sam Rosenfeld
Cover of the book The Mysteries of the Marco Polo Maps by Sam Rosenfeld
Cover of the book Rum Maniacs by Sam Rosenfeld
Cover of the book Androids in the Enlightenment by Sam Rosenfeld
Cover of the book Housing and Mortgage Markets in Historical Perspective by Sam Rosenfeld
Cover of the book Breakout by Sam Rosenfeld
Cover of the book Euripides IV by Sam Rosenfeld
Cover of the book Front Page Economics by Sam Rosenfeld
Cover of the book Loving Little Egypt by Sam Rosenfeld
Cover of the book The Trend of Economic Thinking by Sam Rosenfeld
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy