Tribalism and politics: America, a surge in xenophobia and a path forward

I wish that xenophobia were not a foundational characteristic of our evolved psychology, But it is (see Wilson, 2019). To the best of our understanding of human evolutionary history, for the lion’s share of human evolution, our ancestors lived in small, nomadic clans that were comprised of kin and other familiar individuals. Strangers were rarely encountered and were often to be treated with skepticism.

Much of the verbiage used by the current administration seems strongly rooted in xenophobia. Further, the administration’s messaging seems to appeal to people’s natural tendencies toward our evolved ingroup/outgroup psychology. And these facts may fan the flames of racism and conflict.

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The humanistic movement, largely rooted in Darwin’s take on the inter-relatedness of the entirety of life on earth, may provide a model that can help pave a conciliatory, prosocial, democratic, and egalitarian path forward.