Why we can’t talk our way out of this.

Jonathan Haidt-Speech isn’t enough

The idea of political realignment describes a time when the old party models and allegiances no longer explain reality. This is not to say that they once perfectly aligned with the world and its members, but it is meant moreover to show that the old settlement can no longer account for the case. If you like, realignment is when professional politics cannot even provide the right questions, let alone any useful answers.

It is not only our political models which no longer function, however. Society is increasingly fissiparous, a collage of factions whose intense ingroup bonds serve to lock out all the others. It seems more like a competition between identity clubs at times than a society at all. These identities can be racial, religious, they can be ideological, based on identity politics or ecology, they can even be unconscious but nonetheless widespread. Consumerism has its tribes of unboxers, of foodies, of wellness enthusiasts and collectors, many of whom would not see themselves as …