Moreover, when you give politically engaged voters on opposite sides an identical piece of new information, each side comes away believing more strongly in its original point of view.

The three axes allow each tribe to assert moral superiority.

The populist-nationalist movement

we also can improve our self-regard by rationalizing our behavior when we violate social norms.

More polarization exists among well-informed voters than among poorly informed voters.

In contrast, we resent dominance, in which powerful individuals attempt to rule over others using intimidation.

As Adam Smith pointed out, we have a desire for high self-regard. In part, we want to be recognized by others as being admirable. Moreover, each of us has what Smith called an “impartial spectator,” or conscience, which makes us feel happier when we believe that we are acting in a way that others will regard highly.

We have an instinct to recognize and reward cooperators,

our desire for prestige in a group. We