An Elite Problem Calls for an Elite Solution

Abstract

Abstract Chapter 8, offers a summary and discussion of the implications of the book’s findings. First, it addresses if the findings are expressive and argues that recent events suggest they are not. Second, it considers political scientists’ endorsement of political polarization and “responsible parties” as a normative good. Given the book’s findings, these endorsements are problematic: A well-sorted electorate that has a high degree of issue constraint in which people stop learning from their lived experience provides no benefit to society. Democrats and Republicans are not voting “correctly” if their policy beliefs are endogenous to their party preferences. The conclusion also addresses the asymmetry of many of the book’s findings: The data throughout the book suggest that conflict extension is much stronger for Republicans than for Democrats during the period in which the experiments presented in the book were conducted. The chapter concludes by arguing that since polarization is elite-led, to save the United States from further conflict and potential partisan-motivated violence requires partisan elites to change their combative negative public style and embrace tolerance and compromise.