Example Image
Civitas Outlook
Topic
Politics
Published on
Apr 24, 2025
Contributors
Joel Kotkin
Photo by Pea on Unsplash

The Dangers of the Political Gender Gap

Contributors
Joel Kotkin
Joel Kotkin
Senior Research Fellow
Joel Kotkin
Summary
Young women and men are gravitating towards opposite political extremes, with potentially explosive consequences.
Summary
Young women and men are gravitating towards opposite political extremes, with potentially explosive consequences.
Listen to this article

Throughout history, poverty, class and economic self-interest have driven radical political movements. The Bolsheviks harnessed the anger of impoverished workers and peasants to create a movement that controlled the world’s biggest country for seven decades. The Nazis came to power due to both the Great Depression and resentment towards a small but economically nimble Jewish community.

Today, extremist politics is not bubbling up primarily from the economically disaffected, as occurred both in medieval and modern times during periods of upheaval. The self-professed radicals of our age seem more driven by their own inner cultural angst and disturbed psychology.

This angst is now expressed increasingly with violence, from the well-funded campaign against weirdo-genius Elon Musk, which includes arson attacks on Teslas, to the 2020 Black Lives Matter riots, the most destructive outbreak of civil disorder in US history, as well as the awful ‘January 6’ riots. Blood-curdling rhetoric now comes even from the once respectable political class. Democratic congresswoman Jasmine Crockett wants Musk ‘taken down’ and says that Democrats have to be ‘okay with punching’. One study suggests that nearly 38 per cent of respondents and over half of ‘progressives’ would see the assassination of Donald Trump as ‘justified’.

Continue reading at Spiked

10:13
1x
10:13
More articles

The Economic and Constitutional Vices of California’s “Once-only” Wealth Tax

Economic Dynamism
Feb 5, 2026

Storm Over the Appointment Process

Politics
Feb 5, 2026
View all

Join the newsletter

Receive new publications, news, and updates from the Civitas Institute.

Sign up
More on

Politics

Liberal Democracy Reexamined: Leo Strauss on Alexis de Tocqueville

This article explores Leo Strauss’s thoughts on Alexis de Tocqueville in his 1954 “Natural Right” course transcript.

Raúl Rodríguez
Politics
Feb 25, 2025
Long Distance Migration as a Two-Step Sorting Process: The Resettlement of Californians in Texas

Here we press the question of whether the well-documented stream of migrants relocating from California to Texas has been sufficient to alter the political complexion of the destination state.

James Gimpel, Daron Shaw
Politics
Feb 6, 2025
Who's That Knocking? A Study of the Strategic Choices Facing Large-Scale Grassroots Canvassing Efforts

Although there is a consensus that personalized forms of campaign outreach are more likely to be effective at either mobilizing or even persuading voters, there remains uncertainty about how campaigns should implement get-out-the-vote (GOTV) programs, especially at a truly expansive scale.

Grant Ferguson, James Gimpel, Mark Owens, Daron Shaw
Politics
Dec 13, 2024
National Poll from Civitas Institute: Trump Victory Driven by Voters Who Reject Status Quo

The poll asked 1,200 Americans an array of questions about how things are going in America.

Daron Shaw
Politics
Dec 11, 2024

The Three Whiskey Happy Hour

Steven Hayward brings you the Power Line Blog's perspective on the week's big headlines.

View all
** items
There's a Perception Gap With the U.S. Economy

As we approach another election cycle, it’s worth asking: what’s real, what’s political theater, and what does it all mean if Democrats regain control of the House?

Charity-Joy Acchiardo & G. Dirk Mateer
Politics
Feb 2, 2026
International Law Is Holding Democracies Back

The United States should use this moment to argue for a different approach to the rules of war.

Politics
Jan 25, 2026
Trump purged America’s Leftist toxins. Now hubris will be his downfall

From ending DEI madness and net zero to securing the border, he’ll leave the US stronger. But his excesses are inciting a Left-wing backlash

Politics
Jan 24, 2026
California’s wealth tax tests the limits of progressive politics

Until the country finds a way to convince the average American that extreme wealth does not come at their expense, both the oligarchs and the heavily Democratic professional classes risk experiencing serious tax raids unseen for decades.

Politics
Jan 20, 2026

John Yoo urges Supreme Court to ‘let democracy work’ in trans athlete case

Politics
Jan 13, 2026
1:05

Kotkin: Non-Aligned Nations Navigating a Multipolar World

Politics
Aug 19, 2025
1:05

Wall Street Journal: Donald Trump Takes On the Conservative Judiciary

Politics
Jun 2, 2025
1:05

Trump’s Drug Pricing Plan: Consequences for Innovation and Patient Access

Politics
May 13, 2025
1:05

John Yoo: The DOJ Is Being ‘Tricky’ but They May Be Right

Politics
Mar 18, 2025
1:05
No items found.
No items found.
Storm Over the Appointment Process

This is not your grandfather’s appointment process; in fact, it’s not even your older brother’s.

Thomas Jipping
Politics
Feb 5, 2026
The Clash of Civilizations at 30

Three decades on, Huntington did not foresee the extent to which the West would erode, but he did perceive the warning signs.

Graham McAleer
Politics
Feb 3, 2026
How FDR’s Bold Experimentation Blinkered the American Economy

Overall, False Dawn is a disciplined, evidence-heavy challenge to the New Deal’s most self-flattering myth: that bold experimentation rescued the American economy.

Michael Munger
Politics
Jan 30, 2026
Might the "New Right 5.0" Be the Old Fusionism?

Since the self-conscious conservative movement came together in the 1950s, a "new right" has emerged every few years.

Steven F. Hayward
Politics
Jan 28, 2026
No items found.