Divisions within the US population on social and political issues have increased by 64% since 1988, with almost all this coming after 2008, according to a study tracking polarization from the end of the Reagan era to the dawn of Trump's second term.

How US polarization surged after 2008

The University of Cambridge's Political Psychology Lab analyzed opinions on a wide range of issues--from abortion and equality to traditional values--over almost four decades, and found polarization almost flatlined during the nineties and noughties.

However, starting in 2008--the year of the financial crisis, Obama taking office, and the launch of Apple's App Store and iPhone 3G--divisions across the board steadily rose, research published in the journal Royal Society Open Science shows.

Most of this shift is down to the liberal side of the American public moving in a more progressive direction. Based on issues surveyed, the US left was 31.5% more socially liberal in 2024 compared to 1988, while the US right was only 2.8% more conservative.

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