Someone asked me the difference between political disagreement and demonization. I came up with the following description:

• Demonization is saying nasty things about your opponent rather than disagreeing with his or her ideas.


• Demonization is labeling and dismissing large groups of people instead of discussing the efficacy of specific policies.


• Demonization is refusing to accept that there might be common ground if we looked beyond the labels.

In short: disagreement is natural and can be productive if it leads to a deeper understanding of the true nature of problems and more creative ways of finding solutions that address a wide variety of different concerns. Demonization, on the other hand, is self-defeating and makes life harder for everyone.