Chua has some insightful observations about U.S. foreign policy failures that occurred because we didn't understand the powerful role of tribes. Welcome back. America has made this mistake over and over again.”, “Today, no group in America feels comfortably dominant. Chua has some insightful observations about U.S. foreign policy failures that occurred because we didn't understand the powerful role of tribes. These concepts have long been intertwined in the US's national consciousness, and promote ideals of individualism, human freedom, immigration and so on. If everything is racist and sexist, nothing is. A lot of these are even framed in terms of dichotomous battles: left vs right, Democratic vs Republican, capitalism vs communism. This is a timely and provocative book that should be read and discussed by all ideological and ethnic "tribes" in these troubled times. Four and a half stars for me. 4.2 (2,441 ratings by Goodreads) Paperback. I learned a lot of really interesting stuff in Prof. Chua's book. I wasn't disappointed. This is kind of a running theme with Chua's work. So it is not indispensable like, say, water is indispensable. This is the first book I have read in 2018 that I would call "indispensable." In fact, the United States is one of only a very few developed nations to recognize birthright citizenship (Canada is another). This has long been a frustration of mine (as a progressive person who cares deeply about this country). We need to belong to groups. Americans didn’t know how to “win” the war. The easy stories - the ones about how our tribe is the best and the members of other tribes aren't really people - have disastrous effects when they emerge in a diverse democratic society. In many parts of the world, the group identities that matter most - the ones that people will kill and die for - are ethnic, religious, sectarian, or clan-based. Prior to starting her teaching career, she was a corporate law associate at Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton. America is beginning to display destructive political dynamics much more typical of developing and non-Western countries: ethnonationalist movements; backlash by elites against the masses; popular backlash against both “the establishment” and “outsider minorities” viewed as disproportionately powerful; and, above all, the transformation of democracy into an engine of zero-sum political tribalism.”, “Group identification can powerfully reinforce these conformity effects. “But especially in light of the 2016 presidential election, we should also remember what a testament to American exceptionalism the elections of 2008 and 2012 were from a world-comparative point of view. - A quick and interesting read, I would give it 5* except that it somehow feels a bit too short, as if there is yet more that could be explored. We’d love your help. I did not have high expectations for this book which might be one of the reasons why I become fond of it. Be part of the world’s largest community of book lovers on Goodreads. About Political Tribes. There were so many paragraphs in this book that made me go "Exactly!" Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. The problem comes when tribes with differing traditions, perspectives, and values (say, Palestinians vs. Israelis or Republicans vs. Democrats) overlap in physical or virtual space. We need to belong to groups. Political Tribes is a wakeup call to the dangers of surrendering national unity to a fractured landscape of feuding and narrow interests." Amy Chua doesnt mince her words. I imagine she'll get attacked from some on the left for her take on the misuse and distractions of of micro-aggressions and intersectionality, but I am with her. This is the formula that al-Qaeda and ISIS have exploited.”, “Many lower class Americans view protesters as disreputable and unhelpful, as ‘professional activists’ who are entirely disconnected from the working class because they’ve never experienced struggle in their own personal lives, and who protest mainly to find personal validation.”, “But American group blindness abroad is also rooted in some of our noblest ideals: tolerance, equality, individualism, the power of reason to triumph over irrational hatred, and the conviction that all men are united by their common humanity and love of liberty.”, “The great Enlightenment principles of modernity—liberalism, secularism, rationality, equality, free markets—do not provide the kind of tribal group identity that human beings crave and have always craved. The bestselling author of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother , Yale Law School Professor Amy Chua offers a bold new prescription for reversing our foreign policy failures and overcoming our destructive political tribalism at home Humans are tribal. Mar 25, 2020 Randal White rated it it was ok. Enter Amy Chua's book, which taps on a simpler, more anthropological, more primal way of looking at America's failures in Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq and its own populace via the Occupy movement and Trump's recent victory. Such narratives fundamentally undermine the civic relationships that make democracy work. The United States has accepted many millions of people from all over the world throughout its history, and has integrated them into a more national conciseness and culture. Amy clearly articulates what is happening in our country and how it has happened in other countries before. But the tribal instinct is not just an instinct to belong. I’m a Vietnam veteran, and I learned more about Vietnam’s competing groups (what the war was really about) from Political Tribes than I have known (or thought I knew) all of my adult life. In IR, we are often given a slew of frameworks w/ which to explain failures in foreign policy (e.g., inorganic exportation of modernity, populism, democratic deficits). Their findings, as one writer puts it, suggest that: “group identification is both innate and almost immediate.”, “America's distinctive history - its ethnicity-transcending national identity and its unusual success in assimilating people from diverse origins - has shaped how we see the rest of the world and has deeply influenced our foreign policy. This ultimate failure to convince, in fact, derives from the overall vision‘s inability to confront the very issues that the author identifies at the start. Prior to starting her teaching career, she was a corporate law associate at Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton. Error rating book. I gave this book only 3 stars for reasons explained below...but the book is timely and is very important for a project I'm working on, and I do think most people should understand the concepts discussed here. Instead of tribal factionalism, we have seen conflicts in terms of ideological battles – mainly democracy versus communism, socialism versus capitalism. But the tribal instinct is not just an instinct to belong. There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Whether you lean left or right, this book will make you uncomfortable. The book was praised by author J. D. Vance, a former student of Chua and author of Hillbilly Elegy, saying that "Political Tribes is a beautifully written, eminently readable, and uniquely important challenge to conventional wisdom." They close ranks and become more insular, more defensive, more punitive, more us-versus-them. And uniquely important challenge to conventional wisdom divisive culture wars, Chua ( born )! 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