Hidden Tribes

From More in Common

Political polls and years of knife-edge elections have convinced many that our country has become a 50:50 society, divided into two opposing political tribes and trapped in a spiral of conflict and division.
Our research uncovered a different story, one that probes underneath the issues that polarize Americans, and finds seven groups that are defined by their core beliefs, rather than by their political opinions, race, class or gender.

I have a problem with using the poll question, do you feel Political Correctness is a problem.
The term Politically Correct means very different things to different people.
But these are the "tribes" they came up with...
* Progressive activists
* Traditional liberals
* Passive liberals
* Politically disengaged
* Moderates
* Traditional conservatives
* Devoted conservatives

Two of those tribes are politically incorrect.

So, they say "Our research uncovered a different story" then the proceed to offer up just a more nuanced version of "a 50:50 society".

* Progressive activists
* Traditional liberals
* Passive liberals
* Politically disengaged
* Moderates
* Traditional conservatives
* Devoted conservatives

...which is...

* Progressive/Lberals
* Politically disengaged
* Moderates
* Conservatives

...which is...

Left-----Middle-----Right

...which is...

Pretty much the status quo horseshit we've been livin' with for decades.

.

The seven-layer [strike]burrito[/strike] tribal breakdown makes sense if you figure that, often, groups two steps away from each other find it difficult to talk to each other, and are willing to do battle.

The edges are highly engaged and doing fierce battle with each other. 2, 3, 4 and 5 are called the "exhausted majority" by the study. What's interesting is that, from one perspective, the edges often have more in common with each other than with the middle. On political things, but also on some cultural matters:



This gives them a weird commonality that the middle doesn't share. I find that, as a politically disengaged 4, people in 1 and 7 are both often apoplectic over my opinions. ("What do you mean, you can't say for sure on Kavanaugh!")