The Psychology Behind Political Breakdown: A Special Edition Conversation

Most political analysis focuses on positions. This episode focuses on the mind. Drawing on an essay by Professor RJ Starr, this special edition conversation examines what happens psychologically when political environments reach a certain level of intensity. Why does higher-order thinking weaken under sustained pressure? What is the structural logic behind binary thinking, identity fusion, and moral framing? And what does it mean when an entire system stabilizes around a regressed mode of functioning? The analysis takes no political sides. It explains the mechanism that operates across all of them. Full essay: https://profrjstarr.com/essays/politics-as-psychological-regression