Political polarization refers to the increasing ideological and emotional division between political groups. While polarization can occur in many countries, most discussion on the EA Forum has focused on the United States, where partisan hostility has intensified since the 1990s. This trend may affect longtermist cause areas, undermine epistemic integrity, and constrain institutional effectiveness.
From an effective altruist perspective, political polarization may increase s-risk factors such as malevolent leadership, value lock-in, and societal breakdown. It may also restrict research and advocacy on politically sensitive topics such as AI alignment, animal welfare, and global health policy.
Despite being most acute in the U.S., polarization is not globally uniform: some countries have seen stable or declining polarization. Understanding which dynamics are context-specific can help shape robust responses.
Interventions and proposals
Electoral reform: Proposals include adopting ranked-choice voting or proportional representation to reduce winner-take-all dynamics. Forum contributors have debated the pros and cons of approval voting and IRV.
Citizen assemblies: Increasing intergroup contact through deliberative democratic processes may reduce polarization and improve trust in institutions.
Institutional reform: Proposals include Supreme Court restructuring, changes to the debt ceiling process, and reforms to media or tech governance.
Migration strategies: Some suggest building geographic resilience by relocating EA-aligned institutions to more politically stable regions or countries less affected by polarization
Further reading
Aird, Michael (2020) Collection of EA analyses of political polarisation, Effective Altruism Forum, June 26.
Many additional resources on this topic.Alexander, Scott (2021) Book Review: Why We’re Polarized, Astral Codex Ten, February 10. https://astralcodexten.substack.com/p/book-review-why-were-polarized
Baumann, Tobias (2019) Risk factors for s-risks, Center for Reducing Suffering, August. https://centerforreducingsuffering.org/risk-factors-for-s-risks/
Baumann, Tobias (2020) Thoughts on electoral reform, Effective Altruism Forum
Dreyfus, Alfred (2020) EA considerations regarding increasing political polarization, Effective Altruism Forum.
Olaf van der Veen (2020) Adapting the ITN framework for political interventions & analysis of political polarisation, Effective Altruism Forum.