The United States has almost always exhibited a degree of political polarization https://cdn3.vox-cdn.com/assets/4273163/polar_housesenate_difference.png This political polarization is largely related to economic pressures resulting from income inequality, which drives citizens to choose more ideologically extreme options. This chart https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/Share_top_1_percent.jpg shows the share of pretax household income received by the top 1%, top 0.1% and top 0.01% in the US. As we can see, the level of income inequality mirrors the level of political polarization.
If you look to the beginning of the charts at the late 1800s and early 1900s respectively, levels of political polarization and income inequality were high. This period of time was known for its lack of substantive regulation regarding business structure and labor laws in the face of massive industrial growth. This subjected harsh working conditions onto the US's working poor and allowed untold riches to its elite. This, in turn with an often jingoistic and dis-informative press, radicalized the two flanks of the population until progressive reforms were enacted under Theodore Roosevelt. Polarization rose slightly in WWI and the year after due to the First Red Scare, but dropped under the Roaring Twenties and further when Franklin Delano Roosevelt enacted the New Deal in the Depression, to further reduce income inequality.
Any of this sound familiar? Political polarization will begin to drop when the United States begins to regulate its businesses again in a way reduces economic pressures on the 99.9%. This would be through manners similar to those enacted by both Roosevelts, which would be to break up the big banks and giant media conglomerates like Comcast and Disney, massively increase taxes on the .01%, and end all tax loopholes. It'd also require heavy expansions to the welfare state (Single-payer, more education funding, reintroduction of AFDC, etc.) nothing socialistic, but enough to make sure every American's needs are met. People tend to be less politically radical when their economy is functioning correctly and their needs are met. Until this happens, it will only get worse from here.
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There are some things where I just bypass critical thinking. - ROD
