Polarized America is a difficult, but valuable read. Nolan McCarty, Keith Poole, and Howard Rosenthal, three political scientists wrote the book for other political scientists. Nevertheless, reading and then rereading the book is time well spent. Their arguments about our current political polarization are thoughtful and detailed. I will not summarize the book beyond a list of the chapters and a follow-up sentence.
1. The Choreography of American Politics
2. Polarized Politicians
3. Income Polarization and the Electorate
4. Immigration, Income, and the Voter's Incentive to Redistribute
5. Campaign Finance and Polarization
6. Polarization and Public Policy
7. Where Have you Gone, Mr. Sam [Rayburn]
Excellent graphics and tables, which the reader should avoid the temptation to skip, illustrate the chapters.
A one-sentence summary of their thesis is that America is politically stuck and is likely to remain so until tectonic social events move the parties from the political edges back to the middle, the position from which American political institutions work best.
