political tribalism
Loyalty over policy
Political tribalism is the tendency to align rigidly with a political group and treat its positions as matters of identity rather than policy.
Members defend their side reflexively, dismiss opposing views without consideration, and view political opponents as enemies rather than fellow citizens with different priorities.
Political tribalism has made compromise nearly impossible in Congress.
The tribal instinct—loyalty to one's group—applies to parties, ideologies, or movements.
- partisanBiased toward one side
- party lineOfficial political position
- polarizationSeparation into opposing extremes
- loyaltyFaithful commitment to another
- factionGroup within group
identity · groupthink · division · zealotry · virtue signaling · allegiance · ideology · in-group · out-group · cancel culture · bias · fervor · team · base voters · enemy · hostility · dogma · purity
political tribalismpolitical independence
Self-rule for a nation
civic engagement · civic virtue · civic-mindedness · bipartisanship · nonpartisanship
political tribalismcritical thinking
Objective evaluation of information
open-mindedness · intellectual humility · evidence-based reasoning · epistemic humility
political tribalismnational unity
Shared identity across citizenry
social cohesion · civil discourse · mutual respect · depolarization · bridging
political, politics, politic, politician, politicians, politicize, politicized, politicization, apolitical