Forget Republicans v Democrats : meet America’s new tribes

Forget Republicans v Democrats : meet America’s new tribes

Gillian Tett, Financial Times 10 October 2018

1. What does the survey suggest about traditional political opinion polls?

The survey suggest that nowadays, the US population is not really divided into two (democrats and republicans).  It would be more accurate to say that it is divided into seven « tribes ». Usually, « most people do not sit in a box marked either Republican or Democrat » like we can see it in the article.

2. Does it confirm the view that America is more polarized than ever before?

Yes, we can probably say that America is more polarized than ever before. Like we just said it, the population is divided into seven tribes. First of all, we will notice one of the most popular tribe which is the « progressive activists » which represents 8% of the population. This part of the population can be describe as being sensitive to social issues like feminism and others. The second an third tribes are the « traditional conservatives » which represents 19% and the « Devoted Conservatives » which represents 6%. These ones are more preservatives and they think that America is dedicated to Americans only. Finally, there is four other tribes. Three of them are more in the political left and are totally against Trump and the last one is « politically disengaged ».  The fact that we can notice seven tribes instead of two parts is the proof that nowadays, America is more polarized than ever before.

3. Are the political parties adapted to the needs of voters ?

The American Politics Industry suffers from a lack of competitiveness when it comes to the multiplicity of systems and arguments praised by political parties. The political structures seem to be unable to improve or to innovate, with a constant dominance of extreme parties, whether it is the left or the right, and a lack of centre parties. Consequently, political horizons happen to be narrow for voters, and do not suit their needs.