#polarization

#polarization

Yesterday, at 5:46PM, the Senate rejected a cloture vote on the Democratic continuing resolution, which in addition to funding government, would extend healthcare support and prohibit impoundment. It was a party line vote. Yesterday, at 6:41PM, the Senate rejected a cloture vote on the Republican continuing resolution. Three Democrats voted with 52 Republicans in favor: Catherine Cortez Masto John Fetterman Angus King Rand Paul voted with Democrats against. And so, at midnight, nonessential functions of the Federal government started to shut down.

Many people are concerned about the rise in authoritarianism and autocracy globally. These political structures create a climate of fear, uncertainty, and stress. Authoritarian regimes can quickly dismantle programs that benefit people and the environment, leaving citizens disempowered and more vulnerable to environmental degradation. Understanding the psychology of authoritarianism supports the mental clarity needed for resisting, fostering well-being, and imagining and building sustainable futures.

I agree with Berners-Lee's diagnosis. But regulation is not the cure. The web's decline is not merely a design failure; it is also an economic one. Design choices follow incentives, and those incentives have been distorted by fiat money and the advertising model it props up. Cheap credit from the fiat-fuelled venture capital system pushed Silicon Valley away from hacker-led engineering and toward surveillance-driven profit extraction.

If, say, you're a highly partisan Republican, you will often look at corruption and acts of violence by your partisan opponents and say, That's just what the left does or That's what leftism leads to. Corruption and violence reveals the left's true nature. If a right-leaning extremist commits an act of violence or if a Republican is brazenly corrupt then the response is different.

It's impossible to ignore the tension in the air right now. Acts of political violence, heated debates, and deepening division leave many of us feeling bewildered, frustrated, and even helpless. In times like these, our instinct can be to double down on our perspective or point fingers outward. One of the drivers of polarization is the sense that acknowledging another group's struggles somehow diminishes our own. Humility, if we are open to it, offers another path.

Erika Stael von Holstein, 41, has been advising European institutions on science, technology, society, and democracy for two decades. She's the founder and director of Re-Imagine Europe, a think tank focused on depolarization. The Stockholm-born advisor has also promoted Nodes.eu, a European observatory of narratives against disinformation. Von Holstein is a member of the expert council on artificial intelligence convened by the Spanish government. This work brought her to Madrid, where she met with EL PAIS.

The H-word is an emotionally charged vehicle of hate. The more we say it, the more we do it.

The same way MAGA played with the prejudices of white nationalism, you're seeing an identical dynamic on the left with prejudices like tacitly supporting extreme Islamism or targeting Jews.

The heightened salience of identity in modern political discourse suggests an internalisation of the neoliberal view, reducing identities to consumer preferences.

The state of discourse around AI is incredibly polarized, with both pro-AI and anti-AI factions loudly proclaiming trivially verifiable inaccuracies.

The freedom to explore ideas and their consequences is endangered by polarized dogmatists and demagogues, leading to confusion and fear among students and faculty.

The fallout had been predictable. Left-leaning media had picked up on the echoes of the strangers in their own country line from Enoch Powell's rivers of blood speech.

So, I would like to pray together with you. Let us pray together for this new mission, for the whole Church, for peace in the world, and let us also ask Mary, our Mother, for this special grace.

AOC moved to take down MTG's insult in a congressional session, and MTG responded, "Are your feelings hurt?" All along the political spectrum, I've seen similar sentiments.