Polarized by Degrees: How the Diploma Divide and the Culture War Transformed American Politics

Over the past several decades, American society has experienced fundamental changes – from shifting relations between social groups and evolving language and behavior norms to the increasing value of a college degree. These transformations have polarized the nation's political climate and ignited a perpetual culture war. In a sequel to their award-winning collaboration Asymmetric Politics, Grossmann and Hopkins draw on an extensive variety of evidence to explore how these changes have affected both major parties. They show that the Democrats have become the home of highly-educated citizens with progressive social views who prefer credentialed experts to make policy decisions, while Republicans have become the populist champions of white voters without college degrees who increasingly distrust teachers, scientists, journalists, universities, non-profit organizations, and even corporations. The result of this new “diploma divide” between the parties is an increasingly complex world in which everything is about politics – and politics is about everything.
Polarized by Degrees explains the growing political divide between Americans with and without a college degree, illustrating how it polarizes our parties and elections, sows conservative distrust of universities, media, scientists, and policy experts, and plunges the nation into daily conflicts over the progressive direction of American culture.