Is it just politics, or do people in general refuse to find a middle ground to resolve disputes?

I think it’s mainly politics but that does encompass a great deal these days that is pretty important.

People of a certain personality type will never put limits on their argumentative nature and need to feel important.

A lot of people cannot negotiate, they only want to win and kill the other side. Trump is the prime example of a person that cannot negotiate, the book ”The Art of the Deal” was advertising for his fraudulent University. He cannot and will not negotiate , it is his way or the highway, he is autocratic / dictator ! !

Totally agree^^^^

I think that throughout history, humans have been relatively inflexible and unwilling to compromise. The post-Enlightenment world of democracy would seem to defy that but it never really eliminated our natural, tribal instincts. Politics is the most obvious example of our failure to find a middle ground, but it’s not the only one. I think we are “reverting” in a sense.

Depends on the person. In my experience, folks who always have to win, can never be wrong, and are rigid and unwilling to compromise either…

A) Have a lot of power that they did not fully earn on their own.

B) Are obsessed with having control at all times. Perhaps because they had none at an earlier age.

C) Were spoiled emotionally and/financially growing up.

Maybe just following our politicians lead. Both sides.

@KNOWITALL I swear some of these people would die before coming to an agreement on something

It’s not just politics. Lots of people get stuck thinking in binary terms about all sorts of questions. It’s often visible in questions here or on other forums. Is X right, or is [the opposite of X] right? Tell me which!

I partly blame Christianity, which insisted on that kind of thinking for so long, and still often does. Accept Jesus or the (still Christian) Devil will get you! What? You have a different spiritual tradition? It’s SATAN! What, you’re gay? That’s SATAN too!

Not just politics, but since politics affects everyone it’s more important, and we all feel the effect of it.

Most people are fine with the middle, it’s only bat shit crazy people residing at the far ends of the political spectrum.

And there are plenty of bat shit crazy people on both sides of the spectrum, ya got that right.^^^

The sad truth is that dogma and sensationalism just sell better than compromise. It’s way easier fo do nothing for the people if you argue that anything less than total victory is a failure.

A lot has to do with identity groups too, and how we tend to shape our own thinking to match that of our group. And how groups who experience each other only through TV and the Internet tend to have a dogmatic, sensationalized idea of what another group is like.