I think an overlooked reason that social media is making our politics more contentious is that it undoes the "Big Sort", and kills cultural federalism.
amazon.com/Big-Sort-Clust…
We assumed that was bad, because it would lead to polarization and local echo chambers.
But maybe it was a modus vivendi. A compromise that allowed liberals and conservatives to share a country.
We sorted, and then social media un-sorted us.
Imagine throwing everyone in the world into a room and telling them to work out their differences and get along.
What do you think will happen??
Of course, really great translation software could change that too.
Or maybe we'll just all quit social media.
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