Why We're Polarized by Ezra Klein

One Of Barack Obama'S Favorite Books Of 2022. One of Bill Gates's 5 books to read this summer, this New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller shows us that America's political system isn't broken. The truth is scarier- it's working exactly as designed. In this superbly researched (The Washington Post) and timely book, journalist Ezra Klein reveals how that system is polarizing us-and how we are polarizing it-with disastrous results. The American political system-which includes everyone from voters to journalists to the president-is full of rational actors making rational decisions given the incentives they face, writes political analyst Ezra Klein. We are a collection of functional parts whose efforts combine into a dysfunctional whole. A thoughtful, clear and persuasive analysis (The New York Times Book Review), Why We're Polarized reveals the structural and psychological forces behind America's descent into division and dysfunction. Neither a polemic nor a lament, this book offers a clear framework for understanding everything from Trump's rise to the Democratic Party's leftward shift to the politicization of everyday culture. America is polarized, first and foremost, by identity.