social left versus social right (liberalism versus religious morality, individual versus family)
economic left versus economic right (communism versus high tax welfare state versus no tax capitalism)
authoritarian versus anti-authoritarian (libertarianism versus some regulation versus authoritarianism)
In most countries, political parties primarily appeal to voters by picking a stance on the social or authoritarian axes. In the US, political parties also significantly appeal to voters by picking a stance on the economic axis.
You can confirm this by looking at the news media in different countries. US news channels and US politicians’ speeches mention numbers such as national debt, tax rate, and interest rate at a higher rate compared to most other countries.
Environmentalism as an issue is social neutral, economic left, pro-authoritarian.
This might explain why it has become more polarised in the US.
(Just a theory, not confident)
Left versus right can be fought us as:
social left versus social right (liberalism versus religious morality, individual versus family)
economic left versus economic right (communism versus high tax welfare state versus no tax capitalism)
authoritarian versus anti-authoritarian (libertarianism versus some regulation versus authoritarianism)
In most countries, political parties primarily appeal to voters by picking a stance on the social or authoritarian axes. In the US, political parties also significantly appeal to voters by picking a stance on the economic axis.
You can confirm this by looking at the news media in different countries. US news channels and US politicians’ speeches mention numbers such as national debt, tax rate, and interest rate at a higher rate compared to most other countries.
Environmentalism as an issue is social neutral, economic left, pro-authoritarian.
This might explain why it has become more polarised in the US.