Red World, Blue World

Abstract

Since the 2000 presidential election, political scientists, commentators, and intellectuals have seized on the red state'Vblue state divide to explain American politics. The United States is described as a single country with two distinct cultures. Red Americans tend to oppose abortion, regard homosexuality as moral deviance, respect the military, and look kindly on public displays of religious faith. Blue Americans, on the other hand, support environmentalism, abortion rights, gender equality, and gay rights, while opposing militarism and overt displays of patriotism and religious zeal. The distinction between Red and Blue, however, is more than merely a convenient trope for illustrating differences over presidential preference or contentious social issues. Rather, Red and Blue are themselves distinct Weltanschauungs, cultural world views that shape people's opinions on political questions. Far from a clash of civilizations, every civilization is engaged in an internal struggle between its cosmopolitan, pluralistic elements and its cultural particularists. Thus, the political dynamic within the United States actually reflects a universal cultural dynamic, wherein the Red/Blue paradigm provides a useful framework for understanding numerous international trends and conflicts that seem, at first glance, disparate and unrelated. Four recurring themes characterize the Red/Blue divide: