I mean two tribes whose mutual incomprehension and loathing can drown out their love of country, each of whom scans current events almost entirely to see if they advance not so much their country’s interests but their own. I mean two tribes where one contains most racial minorities and the other is disproportionately white; where one tribe lives on the coasts and in the cities and the other is scattered across a rural and exurban expanse; where one tribe holds on to traditional faith and the other is increasingly contemptuous of religion altogether; where one is viscerally nationalist and the other’s outlook is increasingly global; where each dominates a major political party; and, most dangerously, where both are growing in intensity as they move further apart.
That describes the Bobo vs. anti-Bobo divide. But the tribalism among ideological conservatives, progressives, and libertarians also is strong, as I discuss in The Three Languages of Politics.
Read Sullivan’s whole piece, which deals with the social psychology of tribalism.
What are the antidotes to tribalism? Sullivan suggests trying to view yourself and others as individuals, not as tribes. He also recommends mutual forgiveness, rather than wallowing in the offenses committed by the other tribe. Russ Roberts and I also recommend humility, rather than insisting that your tribe is certainly right and that the other side’s view has no merit. We also think that reading TLP can help.