The Reality Divide
How Ideology Shapes Reality
Take a moment to study the graph below. It is titled “The Consumer Sentiment by Party Identification.” It offers more than an economic indicator—it shows how Americans perceive the health of their economy. Can you see the story it’s telling?
It shows that the U.S. economy is experienced differently, filtered through the lens of political loyalty. Look to the far right of the graphic to see what happens after November 6th. Like a switch flipped, Republican sentiment rebounded; suddenly, the economic outlook was sunny and bright. Meanwhile, Democratic sentiment declines slightly. What does this mean? It means that when “our team” wins, the economy is thriving. If not, then doom and gloom prevail. Economic confidence appears to be less about objective facts, such as GDP growth or employment figures, and more about political loyalty. Measurable economic realities are irrelevant.
Apparently, the days when “It’s the economy, stupid” was a universal axiom for voter behaviour are gone. Today, a segment of the population—particularly men, as indicated by recent surveys—seems to have lost touch with reality due to excessive reliance on misleading online content, often generated by AI. These modern-day doom-scrollers have exchanged rational thought for gibberish, often inspired by obscure figures and conspiracy theories.
Climate change, like economic sentiment, has become a highly politicized issue. Beliefs about the severity of climate change, its causes, and measures to address it are strongly influenced by political ideology. For example, individuals who align with conservative or right-leaning political parties are more sceptical of the science behind climate change and less supportive of government interventions to address it. On the other hand, those who identify as liberal or left-leaning are more likely to acknowledge climate change as a serious issue caused by human activity and are more supportive of policies to mitigate its impact.
It is obvious that we live in parallel worlds, where reality is shaped by personal ideologies and misinformation. It’s a major problem and no matter how much I think about it, I can’t see a way out. Can you?
While writing my LLM thesis, I cited a paper by Shirley Scott, who argues that competing ideologies are either defeated or absorbed if the dominant ideology is to be maintained. This holds true in the legal field. It is my hope that the polarized ideologies in the USA are finally coming to a head and kindness will win the day. I think one huge element is what you mentioned: dis- and misinformation. We’ve got to invest in local news and support journalistic integrity while curbing absolute BS. Meanwhile, we need to act to build our community resilience, happiness, and a better future. Maybe showing them the way to a harmonious life is better than arguing with them. We just do it and invite them to join.