An Analysis Of The Political Polarization In The United States Since The 1980s

Since Donald Trump came to power in 2016,the impact of political polarization on administrative inefficiency in the United States has been particularly prominent,which has attracted more and more attention and discussion of experts and scholars.Experts and scholars at home and abroad have expressed their opinions and ideas on whether the United States is polarized,what are the causes of polarization and what are the effects of polarization.Ethnic contradictions and unbalanced economic development are the focus of academic analysis of American political polarization.The two focus factors and the level of political polarization have clear quantitative indicators from the macro perspective.Few scholars analyze the relationship between the differentiation of people’s values and American political polarization from the micro personal level.As a cultural variable,people’s values are complex and uncertain,so we need to define its connotation and extension,find the micro entry point,and accurately quantify it scientifically.Based on Inglehart’s theory of people’s values,this paper analyzes the quantitative data of people’s values,and finds out whether the social changes in the United States since 1980 have brought about changes in citizens’ value orientation,that is,whether materialistic value orientation has changed to post materialistic value orientation?How did these changes in values affect American society?Is American political polarization related to the shift of people’s values?Inglehart put forward the theory of people’s values in the 1970s,which is based on the reform of the research paradigm of civil culture by Almond and Verba.It makes a more detailed division in the survey content and pays more attention to the analysis of individual factors;In terms of the scope of the survey,the questionnaire covers different regions,nationalities and generations,aiming at 97 countries and regions in the world;In terms of survey time,he uses big data to establish a website of world people’s values,collects and analyzes world people’s values data every five years.It makes up for the lack of research data of Almond and Verba,and proves the impact of the migration of people’s values on democratic politics.Engelhardt believes that economy is at the core in the early stage of industrialization,and people’s ultimate goal is economic development.Therefore,economic determinism has become a reasonable model that can explain all the problems related to political and social life.However,after entering the developed industrial society,the economy has developed rapidly,the dominant position of economic indicators has reached the turning point of diminishing returns,and the rationality of economic determinism is relatively insufficient.The study of political culture focuses on the internal psychological level of the political system.It emphasizes that political culture is an important factor determining the code of conduct of political subjects and dominating their political activities.It takes culture as a variable to explain economy and politics.Combined with the empirical data,this paper finds that the prosperous economy of the United States since World War II has made most people’s values shift from materialism to post materialism.When citizens’ own needs for safety and food and clothing are fully met,they begin to seek higher-level needs,that is,they are eager to be respected and realize their own values.Therefore,post materialists began to explore the purpose and significance of human existence,and tended to be more harmonious,free and equal with nature;Materialists are still relatively conservative.They have higher demand for the economy.They need traditional social norms to ensure their own security and economic security.They have no time and energy to consider higher demand.The former class division based on economy has changed into political differentiation based on values,and the public is more inclined to support a political party because of a certain issue.From the individual level,the value differentiation of materialism and post materialism is the micro reason for the political polarization of the United States since the 1980s.This paper will discuss in accordance with the following arrangements:firstly,it discusses the theoretical system of Inglehart’s political values;secondly,it proves the value migration of the American people since the 1980s;thirdly,it analyzes the impact of the value migration of the American people on its political polarization since the 1980s,finally,it analyzes the theoretical value and limitations of Inglehart’s theory of public political values to the analysis of American political polarization.