Polarized America, second edition: The Dance of Ideology and Unequal Riches

by Nolan M. McCarty, Howard Rosenthal, Keith T. Poole

Book Overview

Updated analysis of how the increasing polarization of American politics has been accompanied and accelerated by greater income inequality.

The idea of America as politically polarized--that there is an unbridgeable divide between right and left, red and blue states--has become a clich . What commentators miss, however, is that increasing polarization has been closely accompanied by fundamental social and economic changes--most notably, a...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0262528622
• ISBN13: 9780262528627
• Release Date: February 2016
• Publisher: MIT Press
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.86 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.0" x 8.9"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

A worthwhile read

Polarized America is a difficult, but valuable read. Nolan McCarty, Keith Poole, and Howard Rosenthal, three political scientists wrote the book for other political scientists. Nevertheless, reading and then rereading the book is time well spent. Their arguments about our current political polarization are thoughtful and detailed. I will not summarize the book beyond a list of the chapters and a follow-up sentence. 1. The Choreography of American Politics 2. Polarized Politicians 3. Income Polarization and the Electorate 4. Immigration, Income, and the Voter's Incentive to Redistribute 5. Campaign Finance and Polarization 6. Polarization and Public Policy 7. Where Have you Gone, Mr. Sam [Rayburn] Excellent graphics and tables, which the reader should avoid the temptation to skip, illustrate the chapters. A one-sentence summary of their thesis is that America is politically stuck and is likely to remain so until tectonic social events move the parties from the political edges back to the middle, the position from which American political institutions work best.