Humans form naturally into groups. We can achieve more in groups than separately, but the trait also evolved because it protected us from predators and foes. We face very different threats to those our evolutionary ancestors did, but our brains remain relatively prehistoric. If you’ve spent the last 24 hours biting your nails while uttering unmentionables about the other side in the US election, then you will know how that feels.
We make sense of politics by applying labels to people: groups we think are like us, and groups we think are not. Brexiteer or Remainer. Trump or Biden. When the labels begin to matter too much, it starts to fracture society.
That’s happening now. Political labels inform who we live with: people now choose room-mates more on voting preference than cleanliness. They inform who we work with: there’s evidence of discrimination in recruitment based on political affiliation. They even affect our health: a parent is more likely to get their child vaccinated if the person they voted for is elected president.
