A data-driven analysis using the General Social Survey

The Great Sorting

Political division in America, 1972–2024

26 of 26 articles published

Six parts. Fifteen chapters. Five decades of survey data.

Part I

Foundations & Methodology

01Introduction & Methodological Framework→

Part II

Mapping the Divide — Core Political Attitudes

02

Institutional Confidence — The Erosion of Trust

03

The Spending Divide — Priorities & Government’s Role

04

Social & Cultural Battlegrounds

05Police, Authority & Social Order→

Part III

Social Fabric & Lived Experience

06Social Trust — The Foundational Divide→

07

Life Satisfaction & Subjective Well-Being

Part IV

The Demographic Foundations of Divide

08The Educational Realignment→

09Gender & Political Identity→

10The White Voter — Majority Dynamics→

Part V

Temporal Dynamics & Synthesis

11The Long View — Five Decades of Change→

12The Great Sorting — Political Identity & Ideological Alignment→

13Issue Sorting, Geographic Patterns & Multi-Dimensional Divides→

14The Multidimensional Divide — Beyond Left vs. Right→

Part VI

Conclusions & Implications

15The State of American Division — Findings & Future→