Oct. 1 (Bloomberg) -- The best explanation of the U.S.
government shutdown points to two factors. The first involves
information, or what people think they know. The second involves
incentives, or what motivates our elected representatives.
From decades of empirical research, we know that when like-minded people speak with one another, they tend to become more
extreme, more confident and more unified -- the phenomenon known
as group polarization. One reason involves the spread of
information within echo chambers.
