The Way Out: How to Overcome Toxic Polarization

Product Description
The partisan divide in the United States has widened to a chasm. Legislators vote along party lines and rarely cross the aisle. Political polarization is personal, too―and it is making us miserable. Surveys show that Americans have become more fearful and hateful of supporters of the opposing political party and imagine that they hold much more extreme views than they actually do. We have cordoned ourselves off: we prefer to date and marry those with similar opinions and are less willing to spend time with people on the other side. How can we loosen the grip of this toxic polarization and start working on our most pressing problems?
The Way Out offers an escape from this morass. The social psychologist Peter T. Coleman explores how conflict resolution and complexity science provide guidance for dealing with seemingly intractable political differences. Deploying the concept of attractors in dynamical systems, he explains why we are stuck in this rut as well as the unexpected ways that deeply rooted oppositions can and do change. Coleman meticulously details principles and practices for navigating and healing the difficult divides in our homes, workplaces, and communities, blending compelling personal accounts from his years of working on entrenched conflicts with lessons from leading-edge research.
The Way Out is a vital and timely guide to breaking free from the cycle of mutual contempt in order to better our lives, relationships, and country.
Review
Drawing from physics, psychology, and neuroscience, Coleman's multidisciplinary approach yields fresh insights and reasons for hope. Policymakers and community activists will want to take note. ―
Publishers Weekly
I read this remarkable book the week after the Capitol riot, when so many Americans were asking: How did we get here, and what do we do now? Coleman is among the world’s top experts on conflict resolution, and this book really does show us ‘the way out.’ It is essential reading for the divisive 2020s. The book will be of great help to anyone who wants to reduce or resolve conflicts, not just over politics but over everything that divides our communities, organizations, and families. -- Jonathan Haidt, Thomas Cooley Professor of Ethical Leadership, New York University–Stern School of Business, author of
The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion
Peter T. Coleman’s
The Way Out offers us hope in trying times. Based on decades of original research on how people and communities escape deeply divisive conflicts, Coleman weaves together insights from empirical science on peacebuilding with anecdotes from troubled lives to offer us a guiding star―and a set of new rules―for finding our way out of our current state of American psychosis -- Van Jones, CNN political contributor, host of
The Van Jones Show and
The Redemption Project
Here’s what everyone’s looking for: a way out of this mess. Peter Coleman tells us how to find it. Read this book to make it happen. -- Timothy Shriver, cofounder of UNITE, chairman of Special Olympics International
Peter T. Coleman has done some of the deepest reading, research, and inquiry into the nature of conflicts around the world. In
The Way Out, he trains his highly sophisticated eye on the polarized environment that has arisen in the United States. The result is a primer on how to think about addressing polarization that is academic but relatable, creative but deeply researched, and ambitious but grounded in the real-life experience of everyday Americans. This book should be required reading for anyone who cares about the future of this country. -- Abigail Disney, documentary filmmaker, activist, cofounder of Fork Films, and podcast host of
All Ears
Polarization is one of the biggest problems of our time, and I can’t think of a better place to find solutions than Coleman’s brilliant research. Whether you’re trying to navigate a disagreement at your dinner table or build a