Opening the Overton Window

Firuza Huseynova is a writer based in Montreal.Founded in 2021, Do Not Research is a reader-supported publication. Become a paid subscriber and join the Discord:Is it more effective to carry out incremental (yet gradual) changes within the confines of a given system, or to push for disruptive (yet revolutionary) leaps if we wish to achieve progress?According to Joseph P. Overton, father of the ‘Overton Window’, each societal group, from politicians to lawmakers to think-tanks to social advocacy organizations, has their own role to play in radically shifting or maintaining the range of socially-acceptable policies.Portrait of Joseph P. OvertonThe concept of the Overton Window was developed out of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy in the mid-90s, and discussed regularly at Center seminars. It was first cited on broadcast television in 2009 by Fox News correspondent Glenn Beck1, who later published a fiction book creatively titled The Overton Window in 2013. Since then, it has been…