Abstract: Political polarization is not only a salient feature of American politics today, but also a phenomenon that has frequently recurred in the American history. The 20th century S&S period ( the era of sixes and sevens, also known as the S&S Years, from 1960 to 1975) is an important watershed in the history of American political polarization. Samuel P. Huntington believes that political polarization during this period is a vertical split of political ideas. The natural polarization is not a social divide between the left and the right, but a political divide between those in power and those in opposition. Therefore, Huntington does not show a pessimistic view of American political polarization, but perceives that the political consensus set the limit for political polarization. The United States has a relatively complex, adaptable, relatively autonomous and internally cohesive political system and a modern political party system in the form of a “twoparty system”, which can assimilate social forces and expand political participation. The polarization of social forces is gradually mitigated in the face of the highly developed political institutions and political systems. As the worlds most prestigious political scientist, Huntington develops a theoretical paradigm that has always been very explanatory, forwardlooking and instructive. His expositions on American political polarization will provide important implications for understanding and predicting the development of American political polarization.

Key words: Samuel P. Huntington, political polarization, political consensus, political systems, social forces

摘要： 政治极化不仅是当今美国政治的显著特征，也是美国历史上经常反复出现的现象。20世纪S&S时期（1960—1975年间,era of sixes and sevens, S&S Years）是美国政治极化历史上的一个重要分水岭。亨廷顿认为这一时期的政治极化是一种以政治观念为分野的垂直化分裂。自然的两极化并非左翼和右翼之间的社会分化，而是当朝和在野的政治分化。因此，亨廷顿对美国政治极化现象并没有表现出悲观的论调，而是认为美国的政治共识为政治极化设置了底线。美国拥有相对复杂、适应性强、相对自主并具有内部凝聚力的政治制度和以“两党制”为形式的现代政党制度，能够同化社会力量扩大政治参与活动。极化的社会力量在美国高度发达的政治机构和政治制度面前会逐渐走向缓和。作为世界最负盛名的政治学者，亨廷顿的理论范式向来具有很强的解释性、前瞻性和指导性，其关于美国政治极化的重要论述对于理解和预测当今美国政治极化的走向具有重要的参考意义。

关键词: 亨廷顿, 政治极化, 政治共识, 政治制度, 社会力量