Alexander J Stewart1, Nolan McCarty2, Joanna J Bryson3,4. 1. Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA. alstew@sas.upenn.edu nmccarty@princeton.edu jjb@alum.mit.edu. 2. School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA. alstew@sas.upenn.edu nmccarty@princeton.edu jjb@alum.mit.edu. 3. Centre for Digital Governance, Hertie School, Berlin, Germany. alstew@sas.upenn.edu nmccarty@princeton.edu jjb@alum.mit.edu. 4. Department of Computer Science, University of Bath, Bath, UK.
Abstract
Social and political polarization is an important source of conflict in many societies. Understanding its causes has become a priority of scholars across disciplines. We demonstrate that shifts in socialization strategies analogous to political polarization can arise as a locally beneficial response to both rising wealth inequality and economic decline. In many contexts, interaction with diverse out-groups confers benefits from innovation and exploration greater than those that arise from interacting exclusively with a homogeneous in-group. However, when the economic environment favors risk aversion, a strategy of seeking lower-risk in-group interactions can be important to maintaining individual solvency. Our model shows that under conditions of economic decline or increasing inequality, some members of the population benefit from adopting a risk-averse, in-group favoring strategy. Moreover, we show that such in-group polarization can spread rapidly to the whole population and persist even when the conditions that produced it have reversed.
Social and political polarization is an important source of conflict in many societies. Understanding its causes has become a priority of scholars across disciplines. We demonstrate that shifts in socialization strategies analogous to political polarization can arise as a locally beneficial response to both rising wealth inequality and economic decline. In many contexts, interaction with diverse out-groups confers benefits from innovation and exploration greater than those that arise from interacting exclusively with a homogeneous in-group. However, when the economic environment favors risk aversion, a strategy of seeking lower-risk in-group interactions can be important to maintaining individual solvency. Our model shows that under conditions of economic decline or increasing inequality, some members of the population benefit from adopting a risk-averse, in-group favoring strategy. Moreover, we show that such in-group polarization can spread rapidly to the whole population and persist even when the conditions that produced it have reversed.
Authors: Vítor V Vasconcelos; Sara M Constantino; Astrid Dannenberg; Marcel Lumkowsky; Elke Weber; Simon Levin Journal: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A Date: 2021-12-14 Impact factor: 12.779
Authors: Alvaro F Martins; Bruno R da Cunha; Quentin S Hanley; Sebastián Gonçalves; Matjaž Perc; Haroldo V Ribeiro Journal: Sci Rep Date: 2022-04-27 Impact factor: 4.996