Society has never been more polarised than it is today. Hoping to eradicate the forces that breed these divisions is Tim Dixon, Co-founder of More in Common, an organisation that works to build a more united, inclusive and resilient society.

Tim’s background as an economist and lawyer led him to various senior political roles, including as senior economic adviser and chief speechwriter for two Australian prime ministers. Struck by the polarisation that he has seen across many countries and sectors, he founded More in Common.

He speaks to our Co-founder Adam Penny, to uncover where polarisation comes from, what its dangers are and how we can become a more unified society.

Adam: Tim, maybe you can start by telling us why More in Common exists.

Tim: Division and polarisation are ever-growing. More in Common works to strengthen the forces that hold societies together, find common ground and bring people together to tackle shared challenges, while repelling the forces that pull us apart. There’s nothing more meaningful in life than human connection; this lies at the heart of our work.

We’re working with academics, specialists and psychologists to find evidence-based solutions on how we can tackle division, and working with leaders on how they can change polarising dynamics in society.

Adam: Why did polarisation become the focus of your work?

Tim: What catalysed my engagement in polarisation was when one of my good friends Jo Cox, a Member of Parliament in Yorkshire, was murdered by a far-right terrorist in her constituency. The person who killed her had been radicalised online, motivated by the fear of a more inclusive society. However, her death sparked compassion. People came together, determined to not let this fear become a characteristic of British society.

Moments like this make us realise the things we have in common. Indeed, the name of our organisation comes from Jo’s maiden speech in Parliament, when she said: “We are far more united and have far more in common with each other than things that divide us.”

Jo was known for bringing people together in a constituency that had many racial, ethnic and religious divisions. In her memory, her friends and I knew that she would have wanted us to bring something good from this tragedy.

Adam: It seems like an incredible tribute to an incredible person. Why do you think an organisation like More in Common is more important than ever?

Tim: I’ve worked across many countries, but there’s one thing I’ve noticed across them: the forces that drive division in society are getting stronger and the forces that hold people together are weakening.

This may be for a number of reasons: our labour market, economic insecurity, demographic changes, technology and social media elevating extreme voices. But societies can only be healthy when those forces are in balance. We need to understand how to bring these forces back in harmony – otherwise, at every level, we lose.

I recently led some training in Brazil with young political leaders. They all had stories about the increasing polarisation dominating the country. A civil servant told me: “Every time we change our government, we throw away every single policy we had been working on: two years of work just thrown away. The principle is if the other guys were doing it, we have to stop it.” This polarisation meant that they weren’t materially solving any problems, nor were they creating an enduring legacy for the issues they believed in.

Humans fundamentally have an impulse to connect, but with that comes tribalism. However, we’re at a point in history when we can’t think in dichotomous terms any more, because the challenges we’re facing require us to come together with a common purpose.

Adam: It certainly feels that way when you look at the world. There is an understandable level of fear and anxiety, fear of ‘the other’ and anxiety about the future. And it also feels like we are being asked to choose sides; if you are for ‘this’ then you must be against ‘that’, with little room for nuance. How do you think the media is affecting polarisation?

Tim: A lot of More in Common’s work is in breaking down binary stories, and these narratives are often perpetuated by the media to provoke fear – and attention. Our research shows that the proportion of people who strongly identify with the extreme sides of controversial debates – climate, culture wars – is surprisingly small. It could be 5% on either side, yet they dominate the conversation, particularly on social media. We’re therefore in a distorted information field.

Furthermore, people buy into silly caricatures of the ‘other’, especially in politics. When parties aren’t putting the emphasis on positive values and agendas, they become defined by their oppositional hatred of the other side. In reality, according to our research, many of these caricatures aren’t true at all – they aren’t as extreme as the other side thinks, and vice versa.

Adam: Can you give me an example?

Tim: In 2022 we conducted a study in the US on what Republicans and Democrats think schools should teach in regards to their history, called ‘Defusing the History Wars: Finding Common Ground in Teaching America’s National Story’. What we found was that a striking proportion of Democrats assume that Republicans don’t want the civil rights movement to be taught. But our research points to the opposite: in fact it’s nine in ten Republicans that want children to be learning about it. It’s exactly the same on the other side – Republicans assume that Democrats don’t want schools to teach about the constitution. Again, the reality shows that Democrats on the whole don’t think this way. This gap between reality and what people assume, what we call the ‘Perception Gap’, is a symptom of the polarisation we’re seeing today.

Adam: As you mentioned earlier we are naturally tribal; we look to know what tribe we are part of to underpin our sense of identity. Why does this natural urge become unhealthy?

Tim: On a base level, humans need meaningful connections to others, to be respected in our social environments, and to find purpose in our lives. If we don’t find those in a healthy way or we feel unvalued, then we look for unhealthy versions of that. Fears of the ‘other’ run deeper, heightened because we don’t have as much to hold on to. That’s when we may buy into group identities that are defined by hatred or fear of another group.

Today, narratives of fear are more penetrating than ever. We have less trust in our institutions, businesses, governments and the media. Meanwhile, we have fewer things to anchor us and that give a sense of belonging: we’re less connected to our friends and neighbours, and many lack institutions like a church or union to give a sense of identity.

Adam: It feels as though we have lost the ability to disagree. I remember listening to a discussion with Yuval Noah Harari where he said that one of our most dangerous human needs is the need to prove that we are right. If you don’t agree with me it feels personal. How can we disagree better?

Tim: It’s important to remember that when people feel under siege, fight or flight can take over, because of the reasons you state.

In fact, there aren’t a lot of spaces in society where people can have healthy disagreements, which is part of the problem. I’ve been stunned by how many people think it’s impossible to disagree with your friends. But half the fun of a friendship is the differences we share: friendship is about sparring, and what we can learn from each other. Wouldn’t it be boring if everybody agreed with everything that we thought?

What often goes wrong is that we fail to show an interest in the other person. Hostility comes from the assumption that we don’t respect the other person, that we won’t listen to them – that’s when they feel under attack. So, when these disagreements do happen, it’s important to be curious: to be interested in the other person and to discern what’s important to them. When we approach disagreement with compassion, and allow the other to feel valued or listened to, that experience can completely flip.

Adam: I think that’s interesting in theory but harder in practice. Because the stronger the belief in one’s position, the more you are going to fight for it. Can you give me an example of where you’ve seen this approach work?

Tim: We’ve done some work with Airbnb: they have a programme which supports refugees in finding accommodation. A man in the United States was hosting a refugee from Afghanistan. He invited him and his father-in-law to Thanksgiving. The latter, a patriotic Republican who writes a regular newsletter for his retirement community in Florida, initially refused to attend, saying: “Thanksgiving is for family. What does he have in common with us?”

“If people can find common ground then the dynamics of polarisation can transform very quickly.”

Eventually, the father-in-law begrudgingly agrees to come. Seated next to the refugee, they begin talking. He learns that the young refugee had been a translator for the US army, and his parents had been killed for this reason. When he came to the US seeking asylum, he learned about the constitution and became a proud American. The father-in-law realised that they had more in common and shared more values than he initially assumed. He writes about his experience in his newsletter, criticising the prejudice people have against refugees: “He’s more American than most Americans; he truly understands the price of freedom.”

He was able to transition from a place of fear to understanding. I truly believe that if people can find common ground, and we find ways to facilitate the space for people to feel respected and heard, then the dynamics of polarisation can transform very quickly.

Adam: I agree. It seems like we are currently at fever pitch when it comes to polarisation. How can we change the dynamic fast?

Tim: There’s no silver bullet that will solve the dynamics of polarisation. But everyone has a part to play: Meta can deprioritise their algorithms which elevate extreme voices; Airbnb can continue their positive work in helping refugees find accommodation.

But other things are going to be really important too. For example, leaders can be more inspirational in how they help societies to come together, to elevate us beyond our tribal identities and give us a sense of shared identity about our country and our problems.

Leaders must also find ways to create authentic connections between people, overcoming some of these dynamics of division, and then tell that story to others so that it forms a larger narrative.

Business is crucial because, for most of us, it’s where we interact with the most diverse group of people. Business is in a better position than any other institution in society to do this work at scale.