Today’s Radicals are

Tomorrow’s Moderates: Effects

of the Overton Window
How did gay marriage advocates gain social acceptance?

How did they go from radical, to acceptable, to popular, all in the

span of a few decades? 20 years ago, Democrats and Republicans
were in agreement on the sanctity of marriage. Now, the left is
pushing the gay marriage cause with the right looking like
grandparents stuck in a different era.

And what about the transgender movement? This has progressed

faster still. Bruce Jenner’s transformation into Caitlin Jenner,
debates over installing trans-bathrooms, and other issues like this
are dominating the news. What more needs to be said? These
issues seem to be at the forefront of social concerns.

This move from social disapproval to social acceptance is what’s

called The Overton Window. It’s a theory that explains the move of
views from unthinkable to implementable. It illustrates the
evolution of societal change.

You can see the Overton Window present in every movement,

from libertarianism to Trump’s nationalism to gay rights.
The Overton Window is a checklist for social change. And if you
ever want your views to become culturally accepted, you need to
be familiar with this checklist.

The Overton Window, Explained

The Overton Window, theorized by Joseph Overton, is the range of
ideas accepted by society. This window defines a cultural debate at
any given moment in its lifespan.

This window serves two functions: first, it lays out the process by
which social reform movements move from the fringes of society
to influencing whole segments of pop culture. Secondly, it explains
why politicians are limited in the range of policies they can push.

The range of the Overton Window goes from unthinkable, to

radical, to acceptable, to sensible, to popular, to policy.

Most movements and ideas start out as unthinkable, moving up

and down the ladder depending on social views and changes.
The window can also be defined by a set of policies that make up a
particular topic. For instance, take education. The accepted views
at the moment are public schools, homeschooling, and private
schools. This represents the window of the debate.

One extreme of the education debate is eliminating the

Department of Education and all public schools. The opposite
extreme is compulsory education in public school, with no private
schools or homeschooling allowed. One end of the window
represents more freedom, while the other end stands for less. But
both are on the fringe of public debate.

It’s this range of acceptable views that not only defines the
conversation, but also the legislation politicians can push forward
without harming their chances of reelection.

The Overton Window As A Yardstick for

Measuring a Movement’s Social Progress
Although this theory applies to both movements and politicians,
I’m more interested in the application it has for movements. Not
because I think politicians aren’t that important to the
conversation (ehhh, ok maybe I do), but because this theory makes
one thing clear…

Change originates from private individuals and groups.

Politicians don’t lead social change, they follow it. Economist,

Nathan Russell makes this point in his article on the political
possibilities of the Overton Window:
“…politicians are also known to be self-interested and desirous of
obtaining the best political result for themselves. Therefore, they
will almost always constrain themselves to taking actions within
the “window” of ideas approved of by the electorate.”
Politicians are constrained by the ideas that society finds
acceptable. So why would they jeopardize their reelection by
pushing legislation that doesn’t line up with their constituents’
worldview?

This is why the job of changing society is up to individuals like you

and me.

Whether it’s gay marriage legalization, privatizing marriage, or

legalizing marijuana, it starts out on the fringes of the Overton
Window.

Legalizing marijuana? Unthinkable a few decades ago. But today,

not so much.

Gays should have the ability to marry whom they love? No way!
But today, it’s widely promoted.

Both of those movements have moved from radical to popular. The

privatize marriage movement, however, is still in its Overton
Window infancy.

To open room in the conversation for privatizing marriage, the

window needs to be shifted.
The 5 Steps from Unthinkable to Policy
“Real social change is a process that takes place over time, usually
quite a long time. At a given moment in history, 99 percent of a
society may think and act one way on a certain matter, and only 1
percent think and act very differently. In time, that 1 percent may
become 2 percent, then 5 percent, then 10, 20, 30 percent, until
finally it becomes the dominant majority, and social change has
taken place.” — John Holt

How in the world do you shift society’s realm of debate? How do

you get people to consider the advantages of privatizing marriage?
How do you take an idea from unthinkable, to sensible?

Well, here’s a 5 step plan from moving from unthinkable to policy.

Side note: this 5 step plan was originally fleshed out in an anti-gay
marriage article. So there’s some irony for you.

1. Grab the attention of the professoriate or fringe

group: this is when you move from unthinkable to radical.
The vast majority of people won’t touch the issue, but those on
the edges of society will. Academia is a good choice for its
theoretical discussions, but academia’s integrity as a conduit of
new ideas has been fading fast. So, aim for outsiders like Reddit
users, 4chan, and anarcho-capitalists. Someone needs to be the
champion.
2. Changing the terms of the debate: now we’re moving
from radical to acceptable, which requires some nefarious
tactics. Euphemisms are your friend. Changing the language of
the debate is key to gaining traction. Look at how the language
in abortion has changed.
3. Appeal to the dominant worldview: next up is moving
from acceptable to sensible. Your movement needs to be
relatable to the current social worldview. These days that would
be individualism. Look at how LBGT issues are presented; “I’m
born this way.” No matter what the dominant worldview is, you
need your movement to be applicable to it.
4. Personalize the issue: now we’re going
from sensible to popular, and that means stories come into
play. Tell people about how government used marriage to
prohibit interracial marriages and push eugenics. Make it
about the people suffering from a government mandated
marriage institution. Make it personal.
5. Get the politicians involved: finally, we move
from popular to policy. This is where you get a public poll. You
grab support, you show your strength, grabbing politicians
along the way. Ultimately deregulating marriage via legislation.

Conclusion: Smashing Windows & Defining

the Debate
“That, I believe, is our basic function: to develop alternatives to
existing policies, to keep them alive and available until the
politically impossible becomes politically inevitable.” — Milton
Friedman

In the end, shifting the Overton Window comes down to

influencing culture itself (just like Lizzy Magie and her anti-
capitalist board game).

The most recent societal window-shifter is undoubtedly Donald

Trump (some say he’s smashed the window).

Policies and views that were once seen as off the table, have now
been brought into the center of the debate. Banning Muslims,
building a wall along the US-Mexico border, mass deportation of
illegals, all issues thought to be unthinkable. Now, they’re on the
table.

Trump has shoved these issues in our face.

I think Trump’s success at pushing these issues into the center of

public discussion can be attributed to his flamboyant and
confrontational nature. As David Bornstein put it in How to
Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New
Ideas, put it:
“An idea is like a play. It needs a good producer and a good
promoter even if it is a masterpiece. Otherwise the play may never
open; or it may open but, for a lack of an audience, close after a
week. Similarly, an idea will not move from the fringes to the
mainstream simply because it is good; it must be skillfully
marketed before it will actually shift people’s perceptions and
behavior.”

Trump is a skillful marketer. He’s a businessman for crying out

loud!
So lastly, remember this: the tactics you use to shift the window
are important, but who’s behind the movement is also important.

Social change is about individuals, so of course it’s going to matter

who’s running the show.