Announcing the Beacon Project
Using science to develop a new civic vision
Last year, I made the decision to step away from academia and pursue “other marshmallows.” At the time, I wasn’t quite sure what I was going to do next. But after twelve months of uncertainty, patience, and plenty of dead ends, today I’m happy to share some exciting news: along with the nonpartisan research organization I’ve been working for called More in Common, I have launched a new initiative called the Beacon Project. The aim of the project is to use tools of science to help build a new civic vision for the 21st century. It’s a lofty goal, and at first glance, it may not be entirely clear what I’m trying to achieve. So let’s break it down.
A History Lesson
The story of the Beacon Project begins with tragedy.
On June 16th, 2016, a charismatic young politician in the UK named Jo Cox was murdered by a far-right extremist in the village of Birstall, West Yorkshire. The public outpouring of support following her death led to the formation of More in Common, a nonprofit organization seeking to advance Jo’s mission of fostering a more cohesive society.
One year later, I received an email from Tim Dixon, a cofounder of More in Common. Tim was looking for someone to write a literature review on the psychology of political polarization. He believed (correctly!) that to build a more cohesive society, you need to understand why people do what they do. You need, in others words, to understand human psychology.
In the ensuing months, I became more involved with More in Common’s work. After finishing the literature review, I worked with several collaborators on project to map the American political landscape. The project came to be known as Hidden Tribes, and it showed that Americans, far from fitting into the all-too-familiar binary classification of “liberal” or “conservative,” in fact fall into seven different “tribes” that vary in their values and beliefs. (Want to learn which tribe you belong to? Take our quiz!).
Hidden Tribes was an unexpected success, and “Exhausted Majority,” the term we coined to describe the 67% of Americans who are fed up with political division, became widely adopted (including on the front page of the New York Times and in several presidential campaigns).
Our work also helped start a loose network of organizations dedicated to understanding and promoting the principle of pluralism—namely, a system or belief that acknowledges and encourages diversity of thoughts, ideas, cultures, and perspectives.
Re-envisioning our Social Contract
In the years after the release of Hidden Tribes, as the pluralism field grew, and as I became more familiar with the ideas it sought to promote, it became increasingly clear to me that the field faced a problem. While it is clear what pluralists stand against (intolerance), it is not entirely clear what pluralists stand for. Sure, we want people to work together to accomplish something. But what? What, exactly, are we building?
In my view, it is no longer enough to seek compromise between existing viewpoints. Efforts to find some “middle ground” often end up being toothless and ineffective. A more positive vision is needed.
At the same time, it increasingly feels as though the political visions on offer in America today—and here I’m thinking of liberalism, conservatism, progressivism, in particular—are ill-equipped to grapple with the challenges of our modern moment.
Conservatism is right to encourage a respect for accumulated wisdom of the past, yet fails to offer an optimistic vision of the future.
Progressivism shows us how power can perpetuate injustice, yet neglects the importance of character and personal agency.
Liberalism rightly emphasizes the importance of human freedom, yet underweights the importance of unchosen duties in building a meaningful life.
At the same time, our world is undergoing a moment of tremendous change and uncertainty. This is partly the result of the destabilizing influence of Donald Trump. But I’d argue that Trump’s election is more of a symptom of a deeper social malaise than the cause of it. The truth is, our current system simply isn’t working for millions of people. People are feeling increasingly lonely and detached from society. They are increasingly exhausted by our current politics. And many feel as though our system needs major changes.
Einstein said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing twice and expecting a different result. As such, the efforts that have led to our current moment—including the focus on identity-based issues currently being promoted by many of my friends in academic circles—appear to me to be dead ends.
What we need, instead, are new ways of thinking about what kind of a society we want to build together. These ideas should borrow from the great intellectual traditions of the past, yet also be tailored to meet the challenges of the present. They should offer a new way of making sense of the world and our place within it. And they should help give everyone a clearer sense of the role they need to play to bring about the world we all want.
We need, in other words, to re-envision the “social contract”—that hypothetical agreement we all make with each other in order to build a flourishing society.
The aim of the Beacon Project is to make progress on this quest. I certainly don’t believe we will find all the answers, but I believe there is no question more worth asking.
What the Beacon Project Will Do
I’m excited to share that I have received a generous grant from the Templeton Foundation to work on this effort. Over the next two years, I’ll be working alongside some of my colleagues at More in Common to use scientific insights to lay the groundwork for this new “civic vision.”
Broadly speaking, the Beacon Project will:
Research people’s core beliefs using national surveys, natural language processing and artificial intelligence.
Propose new moral frameworks by combining the insights generated from our research with existing literature.
Test these proposals in focus groups and national surveys.
Communicate the results of these investigations to leaders and the general public, with the aim of influencing the national discourse.
How We’ll Do It
While the project is ambitious, we are not starting from scratch. Nearly a decade of research at More in Common offers important insights about what qualities a compelling new civic vision should have.
Namely, our work will:
Build on psychological research. A growing body of evidence by scholars such as Jonathan Haidt and Kurt Gray, along with More in Common’s own research, highlights the importance of “core beliefs” for understanding political attitudes and behavior. Our framework will thus be based on an appreciation of the importance of human psychology.
Center the experiences of the Exhausted Majority. The controversial issues playing out on social media do not reflect most Americans’ primary concerns. By listening to these Americans and centering their values and beliefs, we may be able to build a more effective narrative that resonates with their deepest needs.
Highlight the power of personal agency. Research shows how people’s outcomes in life are due in large part to circumstances that are outside of their control. At the same time, work by More in Common suggests that a majority of Americans, across race, gender, and immigration status, maintain an abiding faith in people’s ability to transcend adverse circumstances. Thus, our framework will build on (rather than downplay) the power of human agency.
Be positive. In today’s toxic landscape, so much rhetoric is focused on the negative. While this language is driving short-term clicks and shares on social media, it is also exhausting. Instead, people want a framework that sparks hope rather than fear, and focuses on what brings us together rather than on what pulls us apart.
Balance freedom and responsibility. Our research suggests that many political debates boil down to a tension between two core human values: the freedom to live one’s life in a manner of one’s choosing, and the responsibility one has to oneself or one’s community. Finding ways of reconciling these seemingly competing values will be a central part of our work.
Foster a sense of belonging. Recent research has highlighted how important it is for people to feel they have a place where they belong. In the case of building a new civic vision, creating a sense of belonging is accomplished by crafting a narrative that resonates with people’s values and worldview. Thus, our framework will seek to develop a vision that offers a place for everyone.
What to Expect
In the coming weeks and months, you’ll be hearing more from me about our work at the Beacon Project. Most immediately, you will notice that the branding of this newsletter has changed. In an effort to align all my energy in service of the same overarching goal, this newsletter will now be called the Beacon Project newsletter. I hope to post more regular updates about insights and accomplishments as our work continues.
Thank you for joining me on this ride. I’m so glad we are on this journey together.
Sounds like a daunting yet exciting project. You’re right in line for what Strauss and Howe predicted in Generations. This is important work!