Why Societies Divide (an inspired way to understand our culture wars)
Tim Urban’s “What’s Our Problem?” offers a fresh way to re-think why we are so polarized and how we might fix it.
As an American who moved overseas in 2010, it’s been painful to watch my home country’s descent into the hostile tribal war-zone it’s become over the past decade in particular.
The polarization of society is not only happening in the United States though. The trend is global.
So, in 2019, when Tim Urban, of Wait But Why fame, launched into his ambitious long-form blog series entitled “The Story of Us”, I jumped in and consumed each of his regular chapter updates, eagerly awaiting the next.
Tim’s 2019 blog post series dissected the root cause of our splintering cultural and political society through combining insights from anthropology, sociology, psychology, and behavioral economics in an informal, accessible, conversational tone illustrated with disarming stick figures, deeply thoughtful conceptual frameworks, and colored with choicely placed swear words. The format was long-long-long form, and I was hooked.
Problem is, in late 2019, just after he’d published the eighth installment of his 10-part series, and just as he was building up to what I’d hoped would be a big reveal for how to save society, he ghosted. Poof.
But now, more than three years later, and after six years of work put into his project overall, much to the delight of his patrons, Tim has resurfaced, and a few weeks ago on February 21, 2023 he finally published this long awaited book illustrated with 300+ hand drawn diagrams.
Don’t be fooled by the humble stick figure 3rd grader aesthetic. This work goes deep.
Who should (not) read this
This book is for anyone who is worried about the divisions in our society, and open-minded about their own role in it. As Tim writes just before he launches into a series of scathing take-downs (of both the low-rung camps on the blue and red sides) he implores:
“Here’s my plea: Make this an exercise in open-mindedness. Read the rest of this book in Idea Lab mode, asking yourself, “What if I’m wrong about some of what I think?” Hopefully, this process can help open some closed doors in your mind and leave you a little more clearheaded than you were before. Writing this book has certainly done that for me.”
If you are inclined to hunt for more confirmation that your side is right and just, and the other side is ridiculous and deplorable, well now’s your chance to click “back” and keep scrolling. For the rest, let me share why I think this book is worth your time.
Tim’s book provokes thought on a lot of dimensions.
Tim’s ambitious work delves deep into what has gotten us into the double-humped collective thought curve which is now shaped more like a camel’s back than the distributed bell curve which was characteristic of the Walter Cronkite era a generation (or two) ago. Spoiler: yes, technology and social media has been an accelerant, but is not the root cause.
For me, the standout takeaway is the insight that our differences are not one-dimensional (horizontal).
Instead, the root of problem is rather two-dimensional (horizontal and vertical) where “higher-rung” and “lower-rung” constituents exist within each side.
The big problem is we’ve mistaken horizontal differences for vertical ones.
I’ll try to explain.
I consider myself a progressive by American standards (where I’m from) and moderate by European ones (where I live). Squarely upper left quadrant. My world-view is admittedly reinforced by a strong confirmation bias across all parts of my life (digital, social, professional, you name it). And interspersed between funny cat videos and people hurting themselves, my feed is full of memes, headlines, and videos that systematically reinforce an irrefutable narrative showcased by the hypocritical and unenlightened adversaries to my right. These confirmations are delicious Skittles that feed my “Primitive Mind”.
Meanwhile, my “Higher Mind” maintains the best of intentions to be a bridge builder and to find common ground so we can move toward a more perfect union where everyone belongs.
I confess, however, to dropping down the vertical ladder into what Tim calls “Sports Fan” and sometimes “Attorney” behavior, prone to confirmation bias — justifying questionable blue team antics, while selectively flagging the worst of the red team as more evidence their entire team is unsavory.
Tim explains this is the trap.
The left-to-right spectrum is what Tim labels horizontal thinking. This x-axis represents what we think — spanning the full spectrum of political thought. But, how we think can be plotted on the vertical axis (“The Ladder”)— regardless of ones specific beliefs. Tim describes four rungs on the vertical ladder (Scientist, Sports Fan, Attorney, Zealot) which each correspond to our behaviors depending on whether our Primitive Mind or our Higher Mind is in control.
Urban is persuasive in demonstrating that the problems we face as a society are NOT in fact the horizontal differences we have. It’s America, and people are allowed and should be encouraged to have different opinions as diversity of opinion is, in fact, our superpower. Rather, the problem is the vertical axis where lower rung thinkers have formed a pair of polarized power-thirsty mobs who have hijacked the left v. right narrative making finding a bridge next to impossible.
The upper-right (higher rung conservatives) defends its side in the face of the worst of what it sees in the lower-left. The upper-left (higher rung progressives) meanwhile unconditionally backs its team in light of what it sees from the lower-right. Both sides have developed vertical blind spots and fail to look down vertically to acknowledge and address the blight that destroys their own side from within, while fueling their adversaries. That both sides restrict our conflicts to the horizontal dimension, and never vertically, ultimately feeds our collective social death spiral.
The insight about the vertical vs horizontal dimension has already changed the way I think.
Specifically, I am rethinking who are allies and who are adversaries. I see that higher-rung conservatives need to shift their fight toward taming their lower-rung red “golum” while higher-run progressives (I aspire to be one) need to have courage to stand up to our lower-rung progressives who’ve hijacked social institutions from freedom of thought (universities, corporations, government agencies) and effectively snuffed open dialog and impeded the marketplace of thought through bullying.
Being progressive means pushing for new ideas, challenging norms, breaking eggs. We encourage the trial of new ideals. Sometimes they stick and sometimes society pushes back — not yet ready. Progressives push the gas pedal, and conservatives hit the brakes.
This push and pull is how we advance forward together. Society needs both the gas pedal and the brakes to work together.
The role of progressives is to push forward. We want to explore injustice, inequity, and how to re-level the playing field so we all have a shot at the American Dream. A huge part of this exploration is about equity — namely the proactive reallocation of resources to re-balance and adjust for past inequities. Progressives suggest to become aware when it happens (I absolutely hate that being woke has become a slur), and then to have the courage to act when it does.
But yet, when Tim describes in depth the descent into “Social Justice Fundamentalism”, I can see plainly things have gone too far, and why the lower-right weaponizes the term and what it has become known to stand for. His thesis is that the high-rung immune system must now kick in, with high-rung progressives standing up to the bullies and tapping the breaks on our own. And, the same must happen on the other side.
I am fully bought into Urban’s thesis of what ails us — the next important battles are now vertical, not horizontal. While his examples are indeed American centric (he admits as such), the principles are relevant globally, and the societal trends show up everywhere.
“What’s Our Solution?”
Tim’s book is aptly named “What’s Our Problem?”. He’s nailed the problem. While I’m persuaded about his diagnosis, I confess to being disappointed by what I’d hoped would be a silver bullet solution. Tim, you let me down! But fair enough, there is no easy solution to such a complex and deeply entrenched problem.
Urban’s suggested path toward fixing society is clear: the higher-rung immune system must show up and kick in. He calls for steps along the lines of solving all hard problems. Step one is awareness about why we are where we are. My suggestion: read the book. Step two, he says, is to act, be courageous, stand up to the mob, and be willing to speak up for what you believe in. Publicly. Doing so makes room and space for others to do the same, and gradually the culture (“how we do things around here”) shifts. Sure, speaking up invites dissent, haters, and trolls. That’s why he considers it courageous. But when bullies react, it’s also how you know you’re on the right track and making a difference.
If you’ve read this far, it’s clear you also aspire to be a higher-rung thinker. We need to bond and find each other, regardless of any differences in our horizontal thinking. I hope we find each other, and become united in our encouragement to others to be courageous in standing up to our respective lower-rung tent mates.
I truly hope people around the world discover “What’s our Problem?” There is so much to dissect and discuss. Suggest it for your next read in your Book Club. Give it as a gift. Read it, share it, and talk about it. Go to www.waitbutwhy.com for links to purchase and download. This is a public service, as I gain nothing by you purchasing anything.
