Summary: Daniel Yudkin, our Senior Advisor, will be directing the Beacon Project, a new initiative at More in Common.
A Need for Change
Americans disagree about many things, from immigration policy to beer preferences. Yet there is at least one opinion a remarkable number of Americans share: our current political system isn’t working.
In a survey conducted last month, More in Common found that about seven in ten (68%) Americans believe “politicians don’t care about people like me.” About the same proportion (69%) believe the “system is rigged to serve the rich and influential.” And a survey conducted a few years ago found that 85% of Americans say our political system needs “major changes.”
This desire for change arguably found its expression in the election of Donald Trump—a presidential candidate who promised to “dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies.”
Yet, for many Americans, Donald Trump’s radical re-envisioning of executive power is the wrong answer to the right question. Their line of thinking goes: Yes, something needs to change; No, we don’t want a billionaire with questionable regard for the constitution to do it.
Where might a compelling alternative vision to Trump’s populism come from? Democrats have, thus far, proven unable to answer this charge. Having failed during the 2024 election to differentiate themselves in the eyes of Americans from the more extreme members of their coalition, they are now struggling to develop a “coherent message” to combat the onslaught of executive orders coming from Trump’s desk.
In sum, there is a growing consensus both among the American public and among leading thinkers on the need for something new: not just new tax laws or immigration bills, but radically new ways of thinking about our rights and responsibilities in the modern world—what we might call a new civic vision.
Thus far, proposed solutions are largely handed down to us from the past, and come wrapped in familiar monikers: liberalism, conservatism, populism, socialism. Yet contemporary American life is marked by unique challenges, from the digital revolution to a fracturing media sphere to isolation. What would it look like to develop a new “ism” that can offer new solutions to these unique challenges? As David Brooks, writing for the New York Times, put it:
We need a national narrative that points us to some ideal and gives each of us a noble role in pursuing it. That’s the gigantic culture task that lies ahead.
Answering the Call
Over our eight-year history, More in Common has learned a lot. We’ve explored the core beliefs that drive political attitudes, the misperceptions that drive partisan animosity, and the misunderstandings that characterize Americans’ views of religious communities. We have spoken with thousands of Americans across the country, connected with hundreds of scholars and practitioners, and collaborated with dozens of partners. Our work has been featured on the front page of national newspapers, appeared in the language of presidential candidates, and helped shape national policy.
For these reasons, we believe we are as well-positioned as anyone to tackle some of the thorniest issues facing society. That’s why, after nearly two years of planning, today we are excited to announce the launch of the Beacon Project, a multi-year initiative at More in Common to identify this new civic vision.
The Beacon Project will combine polling data, insights drawn from disciplines like philosophy, psychology, and political science, as well as cutting-edge methods in data science like natural language processing (NLP) to build a new vision for civic life in America.
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.
Our Guiding Assumptions
Our investigation will be broad, but nearly a decade of research at More in Common offers important insights about what qualities a compelling new civic vision should have. Namely, the Beacon Project aims to develop a framework for this vision that 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.
Initial Projects
In the coming months, funded by a generous grant from the Templeton Foundation, the Beacon Project will be working to advance four efforts:
Building Community. We will assemble a small group of world-class scholars, journalists, and practitioners in Florence, Italy from May 26-28th, to discuss questions relating to moral responsibility and the future of democracy.
“Am I the Asshole?”: A Large-Scale Investigation of Everyday Moral Dilemmas. We will use artificial intelligence to analyze the “Am I the Asshole?” repository on Reddit—the world’s largest repository of moral dilemmas—to explore how people think and feel about everyday moral obligations.
Agency, Justice, and the New Social Contract. We will write a research report examining Americans’ beliefs about the power of personal agency and its role in a flourishing society.
Mapping Beliefs About Civic Duty. We will use a statistical technique called “topic modeling” to map everyday Americans' beliefs about civic obligations, then create an interactive website where the public can explore how these beliefs vary across geography and demographics.
Get Involved
We are looking for thought partners, interlocutors, role models, and collaborators as we work to build a new vision for civic life in America. If you would like to get involved, please:
Follow the new Beacon Project newsletter for updates
Reach out to me (Daniel), the Beacon Project Director, at daniel@moreincommon.com with any thoughts, questions, comments, or media inquiries
Inspiration
Our work on the Beacon Project is deeply indebted to a number of thinkers whose writing has inspired our own perspective. These include (in no particular order):
Michael Sandel’s work on the limits of liberalism
More in Common’s work on the Endless Sea
Suzette Brooks Masters work on imagining better futures for democracy
Todd Rose’s work on individuality
Eric Liu and colleagues’ work on civic culture
Hahrie Han’s work on civic opportunity
James Davison Hunter’s work on cultural change
Martha Nussbaum’s work on a capability-centered social contract
Richard Reeves work on “neededness”
Oren Cass’s work on obligations and human flourishing
The Omidyar Network’s call to reimagine capitalism
Yascha Mounk’s work on personal responsibility
The Hewlett Foundation’s work on rethinking the political economy
We can’t do this without you!
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