“Polarization becomes a serious and dangerous problem when many people have very negative views of people on the “other side” — not just disagreeing but hating and fearing them. When high levels of contempt and fear are involved, this is what’s referred to as toxic polarization (and by other names, like psychological polarization, affective polarization, and pernicious polarization). In countries that are toxically polarized, it’s common for people to call their political opponents “horrible” and “evil,” and use other dehumanizing language. High levels of contempt and fear lead to the behaviors that can tear countries apart.”