As a political scientist, I’ve long believed political competition to be a keystone of representative democracy. Yet in the 2024 election cycle, I’m consciously limiting my time, attention and contributions to politics. I’ve turned off the news and social media app notifications on my phone. I plan to visit two or three trustworthy news websites only once a day. And I’ve unsubscribed to candidate fundraising emails.

Why? Because while political competition theoretically drives efficient and effective governance, it does not follow that all political spending and engagement are necessarily productive. In fact, I’ve come to believe much of the time and money Americans spend on politics might be driving division more than promoting civic knowledge and participation.

Continue reading at The Los Angeles Times…