POLS 125 Chapter Notes - Chapter NA: Putting Polarization in Perspective: Southern Democrats, Gini Coefficient, Primary Election
24 Jan 2020
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Popular polarization: simple movement towards the poles of distribution: typically simplified just to polarization. No agreed amount of distance between groups is used to decide if polarization exists. American political elites have undergone partisan polarization over the past 30 years. Scholars don"t agree on whether the american electorate is polarized: the electorate"s views have been and remain moderate. However, surveys can depress dispersion because ill-informed respondents will choose a point near the middle regardless of their true preference. Party members in congress cluster towards the ideological poles with fewer members in the middle: however, voters themselves only appear polarized because the political arena mainly offers polarized choices. Voter preferences, by and large, remain moderate and haven"t moved farther apart over time (1) they"ve actually become more tolerant of differences. Elite polarization without mass polarization to match it can potentially alienate moderate voters and policy outcomes may not reflect the preferences of most americans.
