Scott Alexander shares and comments on passages from Peter Turchin's 'Ages of Discord', exploring historical cycles of unity and polarization in American society.
Longer summary
This post is a collection of highlighted passages from Peter Turchin's book 'Ages of Discord'. Scott Alexander discusses various historical examples of unity and polarization in American society, including demands for more partisanship in the 1940s, intense violence in Congress during the Civil War era, and the role of conflict with Native Americans in forging a common 'white' identity. The post also touches on the concept of 'elite overproduction' and its impact on political stability, and examines Turchin's use of word frequency analysis to track societal cooperation over time. Scott concludes by noting parallels between economic crises and shifts in prevailing economic doctrines.
Shorter summary