Tribes and Proto-Tribes: The Deep Roots of Political Differences

John R. Hibbing

doi:10.1515/for-2021-0021

Article

Tribes and Proto-Tribes: The Deep Roots of Political Differences

John R. Hibbing
John R. Hibbing is the Foundation Regents Professor of Political Science and Psychology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the author of Stealth Democracy; Predisposed: Liberals, Conservatives, and the Biology of Political Differences; and, most recently, The Securitarian Personality: What Really Motivates Trump’s Base and Why It Matters in the Post-Trump Era.

Published/Copyright: November 29, 2021

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From the journal The Forum Volume 19 Issue 3

Abstract

People belong to political tribes that support particular positions on a variety of substantive policy topics; however, when the topics that divide a polity involve identity, in-groups, out-groups, core institutions, homogeneity, diversity, security from outsiders, and immigration, tribalism will be especially ferocious and debilitating. I refer to tribes based on these core matters as proto-tribes because the issues involved connect to our species’ evolutionary past. Due to longstanding individual predispositions, people manifest deep policy preferences either 1) to protect their society’s insider populations and institutions by being relentlessly vigilant against the intrusions of human outsiders, especially immigrants or 2) to enrich their society by embracing diverse outsiders and by being vigilant against the untoward power of insider institutions. Whenever societal conflict centers on proto-tribes—as was the case in the 1860s and 1960s and is the case today—rather than tribes that emphasize positions on issues such as taxes, regulations, transgender rights, and preferred governmental structure, the political system will be endangered.

Keywords: tribalism; partisan group hostilities; threats to group identities; party polarization

Corresponding author: John R. Hibbing, Department of Political Science, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, USA, E-mail: jhibbing@unl.edu

About the author

John R. Hibbing

John R. Hibbing is the Foundation Regents Professor of Political Science and Psychology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the author of Stealth Democracy; Predisposed: Liberals, Conservatives, and the Biology of Political Differences; and, most recently, The Securitarian Personality: What Really Motivates Trump’s Base and Why It Matters in the Post-Trump Era.

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Published Online: 2021-11-29

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https://doi.org/10.1515/for-2021-0021

Keywords for this article

tribalism; partisan group hostilities; threats to group identities; party polarization