Political Tribalism: A Guide to Recognizing Partisan Mindsets

To chart the moral decay of a culture, look no further than the rise of tribalism in its politics. For example, Western culture used to value democracy, compassion, justice, honesty, peace, personal rights, and free speech. Now, these principles are partitioned between two political tribes who only adopt them when it's convenient.

In any nation dominated by two major parties, the dynamic is familiar: color-coded tribes—usually red and blue—that expect absolute loyalty, rendering principles so fluid that hypocrisy becomes the only constant.

Blind to any policy detail, their devoted supporters lie, manipulate public opinion, deny scientific facts, accept abuses of the justice system, and support bans on words and attitudes they don't like. Four years later, they condemn the same behaviors when their own tribe is targeted.

If you think it's only the other tribe, or you're emotional because you think I'm targeting your tribe, you may be a partisan (i.e., someone who is politically tribal). I have spent many years observing partisans, their hypocrisy, and their lack of principles. Here, I present ten of the most common behaviors they employ.

You are accused of supporting the other tribe

The easiest way to identify a partisan is when they polarize the debate by turning everyone into an ally or a foe. For example, if you criticize a partisan’s tribe in any way, such as not agreeing with a specific policy, they will say it’s because you support the other tribe.

If you claim to not support the other tribe, they may even call you a liar who is "secretly infiltrating" their tribe to "create division." Indeed, partisans are befuddled by the notion of independent thought. Everyone must be with them or against them, with independent criticism being “lies” from the other tribe.

Usually, the partisan will get angry and attribute beliefs to you that are consistent with supporters of the other tribe. For example, your disagreeable view must be based on "bigotry" or "wokeness" depending on which tribe you disagree with. Either way, you are publicly shamed for attacking or "bashing" their tribe or its leader.

Their tribe is entitled to your support

Refusing to vote for a partisan's tribe is tantamount to theft. They might say that "you are taking a vote away" from their tribe, exposing a profoundly undemocratic attitude: that your vote isn't yours; it is the property of their tribe.

This attitude extends to hatred for smaller third parties that supposedly "take votes away," like the Greens or Libertarians. Given a partisan's wish to destroy the only other major tribe, how many tribes does this leave? What political system do they really want?

You are accused of betraying their tribe

When a partisan's tribe changes its policies and you don’t follow, the partisan says it’s you that has changed. For example, Democrats who refused to follow the party when it moved to the right on economic issues in 2016 were said to have betrayed it. But, consider this statement from one of its leaders at the time:

“For every blue-collar Democrat we lose in western Pennsylvania, we will pick up two moderate Republicans in the suburbs in Philadelphia, and you can repeat that in Ohio and Illinois and Wisconsin.”—Chuck Schumer (2016)

Unfortunately, partisans have little knowledge of these shifts in policy because they have already decided that it won't affect their support. Thus, they do not see the party's betrayal, but they see your betrayal because they are low-information, "red vs blue" voters.

They choose leaders based on name-recognition

When electing a tribal leader, a partisan will support the most senior and visible candidate, such as a previous Vice President or someone with a popular name (e.g., Bush or Clinton). Their choice is a primitive deference to the most dominant member of the tribe, but it's justified as the “most qualified” or “most electable" choice. These meaningless labels have nothing to do with policy, morality, or principles, and are typically assigned by the corporate media to facilitate corruption.

Loyalty to the leader is absolute

A partisan will support Satan if he became their leader. But, in the real world, they support war criminals, proven liars, intelligence spooks, advocates of torture, and even people who used to be in opposition. All that matters is that the leader is currently loyal to the correct names, badges, colors, and other tribal markers of affiliation.

Hypocrisy: "it's only bad when they do it"

A partisan's hypocrisy is limitless. They don't care if their own tribe behaves immorally, breaks political promises, manipulates elections, or fails to deliver on jobs, healthcare, climate action, or tackling the so-called "national debt." Principles go out of the window. That is until the other tribe does it. Then, "won't someone think of the children!"

They want authoritarian powers for their tribe

Partisans often want their tribe to have authoritarian powers, such as to "lock up" opponents, censor free speech, monitor private communications, control the media, or overrule the judiciary. Yet, in true partisan fashion, they are mortified by the idea of the other tribe having those same powers. Only an authoritarian thinks this way—that one tribe intrinsically deserves more power than another—because this situation makes it impossible for democracy to function.

They forgive evil because the other tribe is always worse

Partisans are apologists for every horrible thing their tribe does, with the reflex justification being that the other tribe would do worse. This "lesser evil" argument ensures a complete lack of moral standards in politics, and two unaccountable, "evil" tribes that have no incentive to do good.

The other tribe is "Hitler" or "Stalin"

Partisans regularly engage in ahistorical hyperbole, such as claiming the other tribe are fascists or communists, with leaders like Hitler or Stalin. To stop these dictators, who should be murdering tens of millions of people to receive such comparisons, we must apparently abandon all principles and pledge loyalty to the tribe. Sadly, this kind of amoral bootlicking makes the comparison another example of hypocrisy.

They have no principles

In sum, partisans have no principles. Any principle that a partisan used to have—honesty, justice, compassion, democracy, free speech, transparency, accountability, peace, personal rights, the rule of law—has become secondary to whatever serves their tribe or damages the other in the moment. For the partisan, anything goes because it is "the greater good." Winning matters more than life itself (quite literally when policies such as public healthcare are abandoned).

Tribalism Fosters Dictatorship

It follows from the above discussion that dictatorships may emerge from societies that are saturated with partisans. Indeed, if we examine the ten points raised above, we see that partisans:

1. Are apologists for horrible leaders and their behavior.

2. Exhibit rigid, inflexible thinking that culminates in blind faith.

3. Believe their tribe already owns your vote and support.

4. Are suspicious, directing accusations at anyone who isn't loyal.

5. Want authoritarian powers that they wouldn't tolerate the other tribe having.

6. Believe third parties should disappear and the other major party should be destroyed.

7. Discard or weaken principles that might prevent a dictatorship from taking hold, such as democracy, compassion, justice, free speech, and personal rights.
   
   

Consequently, partisans exhibit a kind of aggressive, amoral group-think that might easily foster an authoritarian state, although certain societal conditions, such as mass-loneliness, anxiety, and frustration, may also be necessary.

Although very few partisans consciously endorse authoritarianism, many would endorse the destruction of the other tribe, creating a one-party state. In other words, partisans would let it happen and be content once it has. They would be no August Landmesser (see photo above).

The Evolution of Tribalism

Despite my condemnation, tribalism is human nature. Evolution has likely ingrained the disposition in all of us. Ancestors who were disposed to build cooperative "loyal" tribes defeated ancestors who lacked this disposition. The victors bred and it's now a disposition everyone shares.

The disposition may incline us to exhibit the aforementioned behaviors and to filter or interpret information in ways that favor a tribe. Presumably, however, these primitive biases can also be overcome with reasoned, reflective, independent thought.

Although politics may appear to be getting more partisan, perhaps due to a media-focus on contentious issues, reason may be prevailing. Indeed, in the United States, nearly half of the population now consider themselves to be politically independent, with a similar realignment occurring in Britain.

Nevertheless, partisans are persuasive in their efforts to scare and shame people, and the trend could easily reverse. The media also appear to profit by encouraging tribalism, especially around election time.

How to Stop Tribalism

Political tribalism is a pernicious and understated evil in our world, not just for the authoritarianism it invites, but for the suffering and death that is facilitated by its ongoing destruction of our humanistic principles.

To stop tribalism in its tracks: don't be ashamed to support neither tribe. It is easy and perhaps comforting to believe that every fight must be good versus evil, but sometimes there is no good. To support neither tribe is to have moral standards that actually mean something.

Furthermore, I would recommend switching off corporate media and embracing independent media (or even social media for those with critical thinking skills). The partisan, corporate media try to make you hate half of the population so that you vote for "evil" just to stop them.

Finally, just be a good example to others. A partisan's primitive need to be groupish can be overcome if they are exposed to intelligent, composed, independent people who exhibit the principles, kindness, and critical thinking skills that they need to learn.