Here’s a surprise: overcoming political polarization is not a mystery; the solution is in fact well understood. That solution? —“Civil discussion,” as we like to call it (or “democratic deliberation,” as scholars term it).
Civil discussion isn’t a magic bullet. But its track record is well-documented, and getting longer and stronger all the time. As Nicole Curato and her colleagues noted in an article last year, “Deliberative democracy is not utopian; it is already implemented within, outside, and across governmental institutions worldwide.”
We know—as certainly as we know almost anything about politics—that the right kind of discussion diminishes political divisions. That knowledge is inspiring the EnCiv team to develop an integrated online civic platform. We hope that same knowledge inspires you to help us develop it.
