The Overton Window

Fintan O’Toole, writing in the Irish Times, claims that trial runs for fascism are in full flow- babies in cages were no ‘mistake’ by Trump but test-marketing for barbarism. It throws light on current politics, in the USA, the UK and in many other countries. He writes-

"Fascism doesn’t arise suddenly in an existing democracy. It is not easy to get people to give up their ideas of freedom and civility. You have to do trial runs that, if they are done well, serve two purposes. They get people used to something they may initially recoil from; and they allow you to refine and calibrate. This is what is happening now and we would be fools not to see it."

www.irishtimes.com/opinion/fintan-o-toole-trial-runs-for-fascism-are-in-full-flow-1.3543375

“ The Overton window” is a fascinating but scary concept Varian.
Somebody seems to have moved the goalposts and most seem to have accepted the new political landscape. Both in Brexit Britain and in USA.

It's clear that the Overton Window has actually moved to the right when you consider that the last Labour Manifesto was considered to be 'far left', and the previous one wasn't considered to be any better...

When Jeremy Corbyn was elected Labour Leader I did wonder whether it would result in the political centre of gravity moving further to the left.

What has happened instead is a more dramatic polarisation of politics where the extremes seem to hold sway, and those in both main parties with more moderate views find themselves squeezed out. The LibDems have recovered some support but still have a long way to go to even regain the pre-2010 position.

Both these articles on political theory - the Overton Window and Fintan O'Toole's warning about the rise of fascism, cause serious concerns. The most difficult question is how to get people to realise that any of this is happening, that their opinions have been manipulated and in more ways than one (not just in relation to brexit), they have, in the words of Aarron Banks "been led up the garden path".

In an address Tuesday in honor of the late Nelson Mandela ahead of the 100th anniversary of his birth, President Barack Obama criticized populist movements toward authoritarianism around the world and ridiculed the "utter loss of shame among political leaders" who lie.

"The politics of fear and resentment and retrenchment began to appear. And that kind of politics is now on the move. It's on the move at a pace that would have seemed unimaginable just a few years ago," he told the crowd of around 15,000 people in Johannesburg. "I am not being alarmist, I'm simply stating the facts. Look around — strongman politics are ascendant, suddenly, whereby elections and some pretense of democracy are maintained, the form of it, where those in powers seek to undermine every institution or norm that gives democracy meaning."

edition.cnn.com/2018/07/17/politics/obama-mandela-day-address-intl/index.html

Not wishing to undermine the point about the Brexit referendum in the OP, but Overton’s concept seems rather obvious. Isn’t this how all political change has always come about - from unthinkable to unpopular to bound-to-happen to mainstream?

varian
How right is Barak Obama
"I am not being alarmist, I'm simply stating the facts. Look around — strongman politics are ascendant, suddenly, whereby elections and some pretense of democracy are maintained, the form of it, where those in powers seek to undermine every institution or norm that gives democracy meaning."

Those who are trying by every means possible to overturn a democratically achieved result threaten to undermine the very principals of true democracy.

Barack Obama's speech bears reading carefully and if you want to draw parallels with our situation, think about "pretence of democracy" and ask who are "those in positions of power"

A very interesting thread. Thank you varian for introducing me to the theory of the 'Overton Window' - a scary concept which, the more I think about it, the more I can think of applications to present day developments.

"Don’t normalize this” has become a kind of rallying cry during President Trump’s first year in office -- a reminder to not get too acclimated to Trump’s norm-breaking and erratic behavior.

But the real danger of the Trump presidency might have less to do with Trump’s abnormality and more to do with how “normal” he makes other Republicans look by comparison.

There’s a concept in political theory developed by Joseph P. Overton which suggests that there’s a “window” of acceptable ideas and policy proposals in public discourse. Everything inside the window is normal and expected, while everything outside the window is radical, ridiculous, or unthinkable. And Overton argued that the easiest way to move that window was to force people to consider ideas at the extremes, as far away from the window as possible. Because forcing people to consider an unthinkable idea, even if they rejected it, would make all less extreme ideas seem acceptable by comparison -- it would move the “window” slowly in that direction.

www.vox.com/2017/12/21/16806676/strikethrough-how-trump-overton-window-extreme-normal

Those who are trying by every means possible to overturn a democratically achieved result threaten to undermine the very principals of true democracy.

Actually, the right to express opposition and to work for change is one of the pillars of democracy.

Nelson Mandela was on the US terrorist watch list until 2008.

"Much of contemporary politics resembles the brainwashing techniques of religious sects, which discredit sources of information that might contradict the cult’s teachings. Political leaders cannot order their followers to cut off communications with their families and leave their partners if they are not fellow members of the sect, but they have found other ways to imitate L. Ron Hubbard. Their most effective technique is to take a half-truth—that all journalistic choices are ideological to some extent—and use it as a weapon to suppress the full truth."

From an article in the New York Review of Books by Nick Cohen, entitled "How the BBC lost the plot on Brexit"

www.nybooks.com/daily/2018/07/12/how-the-bbc-lost-the-plot-on-brexit/

There’s a concept in political theory developed by Joseph P. Overton which suggests that there’s a “window” of acceptable ideas and policy proposals in public discourse. Everything inside the window is normal and expected, while everything outside the window is radical, ridiculous, or unthinkable. And Overton argued that the easiest way to move that window was to force people to consider ideas at the extremes, as far away from the window as possible. Because forcing people to consider an unthinkable idea, even if they rejected it, would make all less extreme ideas seem acceptable by comparison -- it would move the “window” slowly in that direction.

That “Overton Window” concept is helpful for explaining how media coverage of Trump has been warped during his first year in office. Trump’s presidency has forced news networks to grapple with conspiracy theories, right-wing trolls, and dishonest government spokespeople -- making them a regular fixture of our national political debates. And that grappling has moved the Overton Window in ways that will warp our politics long after Trump’s presidency comes to an end.

www.vox.com/2017/12/21/16806676/strikethrough-how-trump-overton-window-extreme-normal

This graphic explains the Overton Window.

Now try to imagine how it can be moved.

And look at what has happened in our recent history.

This link shows how some American Christians groups understand the Overton Window theory and use it to their advantage,

"The shift that we are after is going to involve pushing boundaries, being radical, bringing up the unthinkable. That’s how we are going to start to shift hearts and minds – when we fearlessly and repeatedly and effectively present God’s truth to our nation."

reformedperspective.ca/the-overton-window-shows-what-speaking-the-unthinkable-can-do/

A shocking report on Channel 4 news shows just how far the Overton Window, limiting the acceptability of policies in US politics has moved.

Unbelievably, Nazis and white supremacists like Arthur Jones are now standing for election as official Republicans candidates.

That was a horrifying report. The Republican Party has moved a long way to the right since what now seem like the good old days of George W Bush!

And that Farage is now mainstream when once he would be seen as right of the Tory party.

Which makes it so much easier for those further right of Farage to move into his old place and appear in the Overton window of acceptability. Frightening stuff.

The Overton window of acceptable amount of identity politics in elected positions seems to have shifted (beyond just the presidency)

www.reddit.com/r/samharris/comments/8rzg5o/the_overton_window_of_acceptable_amount_of/

If you have a spare ten minutes, you might find it interesting to watch this video by a guy who, in his own words, grew up as a "super-right wing radical libertarian" Do not be put off by the flag in the background. He explains the concept very well.

www.non-compete.com/the-overton-window-video/

Tommy Robinson is one of the great beneficiaries of fake news – and the restrictions placed by the courts upon the reporting of the real facts of his case have only helped him further.

To his fans, Mr Robinson – born Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – is a champion of free speech, while his critics are part of a politically correct conspiracy to silence him. The reality is that he is an extremist and a thug. He has been a member of the British National Party, a founder of the English Defence League (which he left, he claimed, because he was concerned it had been infiltrated by the far Right) and a founder of the anti-Islam organisation Pegida UK.

www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/2018/08/01/public-needs-know-truth-tommy-robinson/

The acceptance of this appalling person as a mainstream political figure is good example of how the UK Overton Window has been dragged sharply to the right. He and his ilk should rightly be considered beyond the pale.

So, how do you shift the Overton window? The answer is simple: You have to stand outside it and pull. Social change always begins with a few brave people who dare to advocate something previously unthinkable. And most of those first-generation advocates, to be perfectly honest, suffer scorn, ridicule and opprobrium, are often even targets of persecution and violence. But by their mere existence, by their willingness to stand fast on their principles and refusal to compromise, they stretch the boundaries of what the majority considers possible and redefine what counts as the "moderate" position.

bigthink.com/daylight-atheism/moving-the-overton-window

Surely by now we should all be able to see how the Overton Window has been suddenly and brutally dragged to the right since the Putin/Brexit/Trump forces have come to the fore in the last few years?.