Second in a series, “Rejecting the Politics of Division and Embracing Unity”

In this second of a series of posts calling on Americans to reject the politics of division and blame, we examine why hyper-partisanship fails at solving the country’s problems. I’ll take you through the discipline of policy analysis to explain why the solutions pushed by political parties seldom resolve problems. Instead, problems persist, leaving Americans frustrated and angry over the lack of progress. 

This post is intended to both bolster your policy analysis skills and enable you to persuade others as to why hyper-partisanship is dysfunctional.  I’ll take you on this 5-point tutorial by drawing on 18 years of teaching public policy to law school students pursuing government and policy careers.

1. Public policy problems are seldom due to a single cause; instead, almost all problems are caused by multiple contributing factors.

All too often in American politics we approach public policy problems by identifying a single cause and placing the blame on a political party and its elected officials. For example, Republicans maintain that huge federal deficits and skyrocketing national debt are caused by out-of-control spending by Democrats. On the other hand, Democrats say this problem is caused by irresponsible tax cuts adopted by Republicans.

Logicians and academics identify this tendency as “single cause fallacy” or “causal oversimplification.”  It happens when a complicated problem with multiple contributing factors is inappropriately reduced to a single cause. This error in reasoning ignores or overlooks causes that are usually interconnected.

The truth is that most public policy problems are the result of multiple contributing causes.  For instance, in the example described above, history shows that deficits and national debt soar when the country is involved in war, recession, or national emergencies such as the Covid-19 pandemic. During such times, extra spending becomes necessary at a time when tax revenues often decline. Even in “normal times,” huge deficits and national debt can be caused by a combination of tax cuts and overspending.

In our politics we have a strong tendency to simplify both the cause of a problem as well as its solution. Opposing sides typically have difficulty coming to consensus on all the factors that contribute to a problem.  And the effort becomes speculative when we attempt to quantify the extent to which each factor contributes to a problem. To make matters worse, it’s virtually impossible to explain all this to voters.  Problem solving is more expedient if we can reduce it to a single cause and a single silver bullet solution.  

2. Our hyper-partisan political system reinforces the tendency to address problems by looking for a single cause and blaming the opposing party.

America remains a deeply divided country. Countless public opinion surveys reveal that Republicans and Democrats blame one another for problems.  We don’t trust or respect members of the opposing party.  We see the other side as radical and out-of-touch with American values. These views are reinforced through carefully curated mainstream and social media outlets that function as echo chambers.  Consequently, when it comes to addressing a particular problem, each side has its own hardened views as to what is causing it and how it can be solved.

Given this milieu, it’s not difficult to see why our political parties and elected representatives tend to blame the opposing party for problems. If the other side is the culprit, and its policies and actions are solely responsible for creating a particular problem, there is no need to consider whether other factors are at play. The other side is simply evil, wrong, and untrustworthy.  It would be pointless and counterproductive to consider its views or otherwise negotiate. By deliberately ignoring interconnected causes, politicians can make complex problems easier to understand as they sell their chosen narratives.

Having identified the opposing party as the culprit and fully to blame, politicians and political parties can insist that the offenders be voted out of office. Clearly, the single cause and blame strategy appears to be tailor-made for politics.

3. The hyper-partisan approach we use is dysfunctional because it only partially solves problems and leaves Americans pessimistic and divided.

Suppose we take a problem that is caused by four contributing factors, but we choose to ignore three and our solution only addresses one of the factors. Obviously, the best we can hope for is a partial solution. Since the other causes of the problem continue to operate, it’s clear that we haven’t effectively solved the problem.  To illustrate, let’s look at some examples.  

During President Trump’s first term, Republicans blamed Democrats for massive federal deficits and national debt in the wake of Obama’s presidency.  Republicans curtailed spending for a few years.  But early in 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic broke out worldwide. Republicans responded by passing massive stimulus bills and relief packages to address the medical and economic emergencies.  However, this spending, combined with the effects of a revenue shortfall caused by a recession, created massive budget deficits. The national debt skyrocketed. Clearly, while the Republicans may have addressed overspending by Democrats, they did not actually solve the problem of budget deficits and the skyrocketing national debt.

The hyper-partisan approach is also dysfunctional because it can be used to blame presidents and political parties for problems they did not create (or only partially created) and that they have little ability to remedy.  Democrats blamed President Trump for hundreds of thousands of Covid-19 deaths. Trump’s actions arguably had some impact on Covid-19 deaths. But the vast majority were due to the pandemic itself.  Also, the federal government did not control the entire response.  Instead, the nation’s response also involved the efforts of 50 states and thousands of local government agencies.  

For another example, Republicans blamed President Biden for record-high inflation and gas prices.  But inflation and gas prices were high around the world during at the same time they peaked in the United States. While Biden and Democrats were partially responsible, Covid-19 related supply chain problems and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine also contributed to high inflation and gas prices. Further, most of the authority for addressing inflation rests with the Federal Reserve, and not the President.

Because simplistic hyper-partisan solutions don’t effectively and durably solve problems, these problems inevitably recur.  Annual budget deficits and the national debt keep going up. Inflation and high prices are tamed, only to come back with the next economic crisis or national emergency.  And when the opposing party gains control of the White House and Congress, it wipes out many of the policies and practices of the prior administration. This leaves Americans pessimistic and divided over the lack of real progress.

4. Only when political parties and elected officials stop blaming one another and start working together to identify and address the multiple causes of problems can America make real progress in solving its problems.

Increasingly over the last two or three decades, American policymaking is dominated by the politics of blame and division. In the process, we have lost the discipline to thoroughly understand problems, and in particular the discipline to identify and address all the causes of a problem. Using blame and contorting problems to a single cause with a silver bullet solution is getting us nowhere.

On the other hand, if policymakers from both sides sit down and follow tested policy development methodologies, there is hope for effective and durable solutions. These methodologies begin with identifying all the contributing factors that cause a problem. Policymakers then work through all these factors, including the costs and political ramifications of incorporating them into the solution.  As more of these causal factors are incorporated into the solution, with give and take to reach compromise, the solution becomes more robust and durable.

5. Here’s how you can detect whether a problem is inappropriately reduced to a single cause, and here’s how you can respond to others who take this stance.

The first step is to do an internet search regarding the problem.  For instance, in the case of budget deficits and the national debt, I posed the following question: “What causes high budget deficits and growing national debt in the United States? 

Immediately I saw that emergencies (Covid), war, tax cuts, spending imbalances, and recessions were listed. With further research, I saw that budget deficits and the national debt almost always climbed even when Republicans controlled the White House and Congress.   

You can use this approach in your discussions with others when they claim one party or another is responsible for a problem. Simply pull out your phone and see if you can agree on the question to be asked. See if you can engage in a discussion, acknowledging that their solution might partially solve the problem.  Explore what might need to happen for a more complete solution.

Final Thoughts

While the current system is clearly dysfunctional when it comes to problem solving, most Americans probably don’t know this. Also, we tend to prefer the simplicity of problems created by a single cause or villain. Political parties, politicians, and their allies hammer this into us on daily basis.  In addition, a problem solved by incorporating multiple contributing factors into the solution usually requires substantial compromise. In the world of hyper-partisanship, “compromise” is a dirty word.  

Consequently, even if we convince millions of Americans that the current system is dysfunctional, it will continue to be used by political parties, politicians, and their allies.  In future posts we’ll explore what else we need to do to put hyper-partisan politics in the rear view mirror.