Colloquy

Americans are more politically polarized than at any time since the Civil War. Who we vote for shapes where we live, who our friends are, and even whom we marry. The political party we support seems more central to our identities than ever. But the political scientists Dan Schlozman, PhD ’11, and Sam Rosenfeld, PhD ’14, argue that the prominence of party ID and the polarization that accompanies it are, in large part, a sign that our political parties have actually become weaker.
In their recent book, The Hollow Parties: The Many Pasts and Disordered Present of American Party Politics, Schlozman and Rosenfeld say that both the Democratic and Republican parties have lost their ability to organize, motivate voters, and advocate for ideas, with troubling consequences for our democracy. The good news is that the hollowing out of the parties could be an opportunity to rebuild them and, in so doing, rejuvenate our moribund politics.

According to a July 2026 survey from the Pew Research Center, 71 percent of Americans are very concerned about the cost of healthcare, 66 percent about the cost of groceries and consumer goods, and 64 percent about housing costs. And politicians are responding—at least in their rhetoric. It’s hard to change the TV channel or queue up a YouTube video this election season without being inundated by ads touting a candidate’s pledge to fight for affordability.
The University of Michigan economist, Justin Wolfers, PhD ’01, says that purchasing power has actually increased in recent years. Aside from a short-lived spike in inflation during the COVID-19 pandemic, consumer goods in particular have gotten more affordable. So why are we still so angry about rising prices? Drawing on the work of the Harvard economist Stefanie Stantcheva, Wolfers says the reason our feelings don’t match the facts has to do with the terrifying “boss” model of inflation we all carry around in our heads.

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001—along with two long wars in Afghanistan and Iraq—forever shattered Americans' sense of safety and security, particularly for those living in cities like New York, Washington, DC, and Boston. So, what have we learned in the generation since about the impact 9/11 has had on us, as well as how terrorists think? Boston University professor Jessica Stern, PhD '92, a global expert on counterterrorism and perpetrator psychology, talks about the trauma of terrorism and how an understanding of it can help us prevent public violence.

After decades of increasing inequality and stagnating wages among working and middle-class Americans, many pundits thought that the financial crisis and the wave election of 2008 would usher in a new era of politics in the US. And they were right, only not the way they expected. The passage of the Affordable Care and Inflation Reduction acts notwithstanding, the last eighteen years have generally not yielded a more robust social safety net, higher taxes on the wealthy, or massive public investments in infrastructure or renewable energy. Instead, many working and middle-class voters have moved to the right, resulting most recently in sharp cuts to bedrock social programs that provide healthcare and food assistance to the poor—and equally sharp cuts in taxes, particularly for those at the top of the income and wealth pyramid.

So, why have US politicians been unable to build sustained support for policies of redistribution in the face of skyrocketing inequality? Fair Enough, a new book by the University of Toulouse social scientist Charlotte Cavaille, PhD '14, points to an underexamined cause: the complicated ways people think about fairness. In addition to traditional notions of self-interest, Cavaille says, voters weigh proportionality and reciprocity in deciding whether redistributive policies are fair. As a result, middle- and working-class Americans’ concerns about "free riders" may inspire opposition to policies that would benefit them materially.

“If you buy one self-help book this year, pick this one,” wrote New York Times writer Tara Parker-Pope about How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be, adding the book to the paper's list of eight favorites for healthy living in 2021. What sets How to Change apart is its focus on the internal obstacles that plague efforts to develop healthier habits and move forward in our lives. The author, University of Pennsylvania professor Katie Milkman, PhD ’09, says she organized the book this way in order to enable readers to identify common barriers and the best strategies for overcoming them. This month on Colloquy, Milkman discusses her research and how insights from economics and psychology can be harnessed to change consequential behaviors for good.