Summary Of Polarization Of Politics By Abramowitz

Abramowitz, a well-known political scientist, presents a radical argument about politics in America. He argues that in American politics, the most critical rift is between the citizens who are engaged politically and those who are not as opposed to the left and right wings. He claims that the involved public members who reflect the democratic citizenship's ideals closely, form the most polarized group. At the highest governmental levels, polarization does not symbolize the disconnection of the elites from the general public but instead, their responsiveness to the parts of it that are engaged. Often, polarization is assumed to be detrimental to democracy, but Abramowitz claims that polarization through the presentation of voters who have clear …show more content…
Today, the party loyalty is primarily based on ideological beliefs rather than identification of social groups. Abramowitz admits that such a situation can paralyze the democracy of the United States instead of the parliamentary democracies. He asserts that the legislative along with executive branches will be under the control of various political parties and this will make bipartisan cooperation not only unlikely but also damage politically, and this will give the remaining few moderates an outsized importance. The author supports his conclusions with charts and tables, and this makes his argument …show more content…
The electorate is more ideological and educated than ever before. The relationship between party identification and ideology has risen over the past four decades with the relationship being high in those that are politically involved. It is true that the involved voters matter more than the unengaged ones in elections. The population is becoming involved increasingly even in the public voting. The author argues that the growing consistency between and across issues positions as well as party identification has resulted in a polarization which he terms as being partisan-ideological (Abramowitz, 57). The American politics are driven by ideology, and it predicts partisanship better as compared to the social background. Both the candidates and voters are ideologically aligned. Abramowitz argues that those citizens who lack an ideological outlook that is consistent for whatever reasons are at a risk of becoming alienated increasingly from not only the electoral process but also the two primary political