CIVIL SOCIETY
Accelerating the New MachoWhat social change leaders can learn from behavioral science and the experience of the 21st-century tough guys
By Lisa Witter & Michael Feigelson | 1 | Jun. 6, 2014
As players stride onto the pitch at the World Cup in Brazil later this month, they will enter hand-in-hand with a child. Kids have become the brand of one of the most competitive global sports. The iconic FC Barcelona even sports the UNICEF logo on its jerseys.
This is one example of how men who have historically been symbols of toughness are embracing a new archetype of manliness—one in which they care for their kids, are sensitive with their partners, and share power without losing respect. A “new macho” is emerging, and change is spreading. A 2013 Pew Research study on the “new American father” illustrates several examples:
What motivates men who embody the new macho, and how can we combine the answers with new insights from behavioral science to accelerate the transformation?
Detective Chief Superintendent John Carnochan, a recent retiree from the Scottish Police, is one example. After 30 years, Carnochan decided that it was time to start stopping murders instead of solving them. Soon he found himself at the helm of a specialized department called the Violence Reduction Unit.
Today, the former murder detective has become a passionate advocate for positive parenting programs. Carnochan scours the country teaching everyone from gang members to elementary school children his favorite refrain: “The most important four years of a child’s life are up to age three.” He has helped make early childhood development a policy priority for Scotland.
Carnochan is not the only tough guy who is into toddlers. Leading men like Brad Pitt and Will Smith are portrayed in the media as caring dads taking their kids to school and on weekend excursions. They talk openly about their role as caregivers, while continuing to grow their status as icons and highlight their sex appeal.
Don McPherson is another example. McPherson played quarterback at Syracuse University, finishing second in the 1987 Heisman Trophy voting. He then pursued a professional career, until becoming the executive director of Sports Leadership at Adelphi University and a TV commentator for Big East football.
Like Carnochan, McPherson has all the credentials of a traditional man’s man, but for the last 20 years has dedicated himself to tackling men’s violence against women, speaking at college campuses across the country.
Last year, McPherson joined men such as hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons and Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings as spokespersons for the Ring the Bell Campaign, which aims to collect one million promises from one million men to end violence against women.
Carnochan and McPherson reflect individual stories and a growing trend. Both speak to common attributes of new macho men. They:
The answer is likely a combination of factors, including changing workforce needs, the economic necessity of two-income families, advocacy campaigns focused on equality, and increased recognition for basic principles of human rights. These trends have created conditions in which abandoning the old and embracing the new macho benefits men, their partners, and their children.
For example:
In collaboration with Behavioral Scientist and Professor Paul Dolan of the London School Economics, we have compiled a list of insights to help individuals and organizations answer this question. Think:M.A.C.H.O. M.A.N.
Messenger: Men’s trust is motivated by group affiliations. For example, men trust men that went to their university even if they have no personal connection. This mirrors the way men organize in the military or sports—a clear distinction between “us” and “them.” Initiatives aimed at changing old macho behaviors should make sure that the targeted men see the messengers as part of their “in-group.”
Affect: Emotion is a powerful force in decision-making, but we often focus on appealing to men’s rationality. When we do invoke emotions to address old macho behaviors, we frequently focus on negative feelings such as fear, shame, or guilt, provoking self-defensive biases. It’s important to offer emotional carrots too, appealing to qualities such as hope and gratitude. What’s the emotional cost of perpetuating the old macho? How will he feel by transitioning to the new macho? Be explicit.
Commitment: Public commitment is important in behavioral science. Strategies need to encourage men to make public commitments in line with the new macho. This act should be a sign of strength and power, helping tap into an “honor code” that is already closely tied to traditional conceptions of manliness.
Honor: Don’t repudiate the honor code that influences men’s social behaviors— use it. Make the behaviors we want to change come into contradiction with it. With honor comes integrity and selflessness—we need to invoke these traits under the auspices of honor to drive positive social change.
Opportunity: Well-framed messages are not enough to change behavior. Men also need to practice. As the old macho is still the dominant norm, it’s important to manufacture opportunities to practice new macho behaviors. Provide “channel factors”—convenient opportunities for men to act the new macho and experience the rewards.
Motivation: Understand what incentives men have to act the old macho—a desire for respect, power, friendship, sex? Work toward situations where old macho behaviors put these outcomes at risk. As men are highly averse to loss, this strategy creates the need to reconcile desired outcomes with a new ideal of manliness. It will help generate demand for new macho alternatives.
Abilities: If we tap into men’s emotions and motivate them to change, we must also understand how they process this information. For example, a campaign may trigger an empathic reaction, but the male brain may then shifts gears and problem-solve until it can “fix” the situation. ‘Fixing’ the situation will then cause the brain circuits to register victory – a satisfactory resolution. This means helping men learn new skills such as negotiation and mindfulness to deal with familiar problems such as conflict and anger.
Norms: In his 2004 study, “The Social Norms Approach,” Alan Berkowitz asserts: “What men think other men think is one of the strongest determinants of how men act,” but “these perceptions and beliefs are [often] mistaken.” Making new macho men more visible in society helps shift perceptions that drive behavior by establishing the new macho as the salient norm. This is why role models such as Detective Carnochan and Don McPherson are so important.
Of course, it is important to view these insights with sensitivity, particularly in relation to culture and sexuality. That said—whether the task is to promote father’s involvement in early childhood, curb bullying, or address another behavior patterned on the old macho—we believe these insights can help social change leaders design more effective strategies.
The new macho does not mark the end of manliness but its redefinition for the 21st century. The benefits are clear for men and for women, boys and girls, and society at large. Let’s make it happen.
Join us in conversation about men you see as the #newmacho on Twitter.
Lisa Witter (@lisamwitter) is an award-winning expert in the intersections of communications, technology, politics and behavior change. She is a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader and serves on their Global Agenda Council for Neuroscience and Behavior. She is the co-author of The She Spot and is mom to two soccer-obsessed sons.
Michael Feigelson (@mfeigelson1) has spent the last 15 years focused on improving opportunities for children and youth. He is currently the program director for the Bernard Van Leer Foundation, is a former Thomas J. Watson fellow and McKinsey & Company consultant, has degrees from Princeton and Wesleyan University and is the proud, new father of a beautiful baby girl.
GOVERNMENT
Reclaiming Democracy: A Plea for Political Entrepreneurship - We face daunting challenges, but political institutions cannot cope; it's time to shake up the system
By Lisa Witter & Catherine de Vries |Oct. 31, 2013
The recent shutdown of the American government uncovers not only the width of the partisan divide between Democrats and Republicans, but also a much more fundamental problem facing electoral democracies around the globe.
We are witnessing a crisis of political representation and accountability throughout the advanced industrial world and emerging markets. Citizens are deserting the political arena. Governments are in a stalemate. Trends of low electoral turnout, increasing electoral volatility, and shrinking political party and voluntary movement membership are just some of the symptoms.
Many factors contribute to this crisis, but five different-yet-interrelated phenomena are central to it: myopia, unaccountability, complexity, the decline of political parties, and a talent deficit.
Political Myopia: Political myopia, or short-sightedness, manifests itself among voters and politicians. Although accusations of short-sighted politicians are often cast aside as mere ideological banter, evidence suggests that many political parties are increasingly catch-all in outlook and favor winning elections to acquire power over sticking to policy ideals (see, for example, “Why Do Parties Change Position?” and “Causes and Electoral Consequences of Party Policy Shifts in Multiparty Elections”). Rather than presenting visions for society and policy, parties are engaged in a sort of GPS-politics aiming to identify blocs of voters that will aid them with victory. Partly as a response to voters—who are increasingly fickle in their partisan loyalties—many parties, especially those of the mainstream left and right, have shaken off their ideological feathers, comprised on long-term policy ideals, and favored short-term electoral gains over long-term growth. Voters alike seem to have taken on the role of political shareholders characterized by impatience, unrealistic expectations, and a focus on the short-term.
Unaccountable Governing Bodies and Societal Complexity: The recent global financial and economic crisis exacerbates the overall lack of long-range perspective in thinking or planning. Real policy solutions are scarce. What is more, policy authority is rapidly transferring from the hands of elected officials to technocrats working in banks, rating agencies, and unelected and unaccountable governing bodies such as the European Commission or International Monetary Fund. This hampers political representation and accountability through elections even further. While democratic institutions have many self-stabilizing capacities, we cannot be sanguine about a positive outcome to the current crisis. One reason for this is that political institutions are managing representation and accountability in a time of dramatic social and economic transformation, resulting in hugely increasing, multidimensional diversity. The ”old politics” of left and right are eroding, and globalized economics has had a fracturing impact on politics. With this, citizens are much less rooted in traditional civil society—unions and business, church and local community—while the challenges of understanding politics have increased dramatically beyond citizens’ capacity to process it.
The Decline of the Party: Historically, political parties have been the most successful forms of citizen-democracy linkage. Yet it is well known that political parties are in decline—in their membership, levels of public identification, and links to civil society. Once regarded as an essential safeguard for democracy, political parties seem like outmoded organizations that may stand in the way of democratic renewal rather than promoting it. The increase in technocratic governance and the demise of mainstream political parties provides a fertile breeding ground for extremist politics. Right-wing populist parties in East-Central and Western Europe, as well as the Tea Party in the United States, are gaining strong political footholds. Nuanced political answers to the world’s complex political problems aren’t gaining much traction in public discourse.
Talent Deficit: Ask any businessperson about the key to their company’s success, and the good ones will answer: the talent. Part of the problem we face is that the broken political system scares away much-needed political talent. How many people do you know who are chomping at the bit to run for office or get involved with government? The personal stakes involved in running, and either winning or losing, are too high, and the hopes of actually accomplishing anything if elected are overshadowed by the prospects of gridlock and corruption.
A Call for a Political Entrepreneurship Movement: Although the magnitude and complexity of problems that most societies face today may turn many away from political action, they could also present a motor for change. What can we do to mend broken linkages between political and public officials and voters? What role can technology and the anthropological changes sweeping in because of it positively play? These dire political times call for a new and long-term rethinking of the political entrepreneurship movement.
Can a group of political entrepreneurs fighting for sustainability in nature, schools, streets, workplaces, or the marketplace reclaim the political arena and ignite enthusiasm for politics? If we truly care about the state of our world, democracy, and economy, the answer must be yes. If so, the question becomes how?How can political entrepreneurs develop new modes of citizen-politics linkage, and develop policies that work and solve the problems we face? Who are these entrepreneurs? Where are they, and what can we do to excite, support, and engage them in change?
Beyond that, the system itself must change. Here are some suggestions for how we can make this happen:
Politics Through People: More Talent, Fewer Tribes
We need to better connect people with politics. Instead of political parties functioning as tribes, which are closed and divisive in nature, we can organize people within an inclusive community that is designated as a pool for talent and new ideas. In other words, is it time to kill the political party or so radically change it that it becomes unrecognizable? Technology can be a great facilitator to this but alone is not the answer.
Evidence-Based Public Policy: More Evidence, Less Ideology
Rather than crafting policy around partisan warfare over a healthcare bill or a school voucher, we should take lessons from social organizations that experiment with solutions to a problem on a small scale before they implement a large-scale program—think Esther Dulfo’s work on the success of aid provided by international organizations or NGOs. And, specifically, what role does behavioral science play in informing these evidence-base solutions?
Open and Accountable Politics: More Transparency, Less Strategy
How can we restore faith in public officials? Whistle-blowing has been and will likely always be an important accountability tool. Scandals such as Wikileaks have intensified the crisis of representation and accountability. The new political entrepreneurs must take ownership and develop transparency mechanisms such as annual reports, full financial disclosure, and vote-tracking websites. There are great examples of this at the Sunlight Foundation.
Popping the Cynicism Bubble and Crowdsourcing Solutions
The topics of politics and reform are often disheartening. In the United States, The Daily Show is both a source of comic relief, and important political analysis; it also helps fuel to the cynicism flame. This cynicism guarantees continued business as usual—or worse. Every day we don’t act, the problem compounds, and we are hopeful that a new generation—defined by point-of-view and not age—will emerge to chart a new path.
An International Call
It is time to call together an international, collaborative community of political entrepreneurs. We’ve seen the great contributions of the social entrepreneurship movement. Let’s build on that, as well as the sparks of existing political entrepreneurs, to enhance democracy. Academia, philanthropy, social investors, and those who care about democracy need to facilitate and fund it.
The above are just some of the questions and ideas we need to explore on the topic of political entrepreneurship. Please tweet your ideas, question and examples of political entrepreneurs to #polient.
Accelerating the New MachoWhat social change leaders can learn from behavioral science and the experience of the 21st-century tough guys
By Lisa Witter & Michael Feigelson | 1 | Jun. 6, 2014
As players stride onto the pitch at the World Cup in Brazil later this month, they will enter hand-in-hand with a child. Kids have become the brand of one of the most competitive global sports. The iconic FC Barcelona even sports the UNICEF logo on its jerseys.
This is one example of how men who have historically been symbols of toughness are embracing a new archetype of manliness—one in which they care for their kids, are sensitive with their partners, and share power without losing respect. A “new macho” is emerging, and change is spreading. A 2013 Pew Research study on the “new American father” illustrates several examples:
- In 2010, 82 percent of adults approved of men who put their families before everything else. And 89 percent valued caring and compassion as very important male traits, compared to 41 percent for the ability to provide a good income.
- Fathers’ time with children nearly tripled from two-and-a-half hours per week in 1965 to seven hours per week in 2011. Fathers’ time doing household chores more than doubled from four to 10 hours per week.
What motivates men who embody the new macho, and how can we combine the answers with new insights from behavioral science to accelerate the transformation?
Detective Chief Superintendent John Carnochan, a recent retiree from the Scottish Police, is one example. After 30 years, Carnochan decided that it was time to start stopping murders instead of solving them. Soon he found himself at the helm of a specialized department called the Violence Reduction Unit.
Today, the former murder detective has become a passionate advocate for positive parenting programs. Carnochan scours the country teaching everyone from gang members to elementary school children his favorite refrain: “The most important four years of a child’s life are up to age three.” He has helped make early childhood development a policy priority for Scotland.
Carnochan is not the only tough guy who is into toddlers. Leading men like Brad Pitt and Will Smith are portrayed in the media as caring dads taking their kids to school and on weekend excursions. They talk openly about their role as caregivers, while continuing to grow their status as icons and highlight their sex appeal.
Don McPherson is another example. McPherson played quarterback at Syracuse University, finishing second in the 1987 Heisman Trophy voting. He then pursued a professional career, until becoming the executive director of Sports Leadership at Adelphi University and a TV commentator for Big East football.
Like Carnochan, McPherson has all the credentials of a traditional man’s man, but for the last 20 years has dedicated himself to tackling men’s violence against women, speaking at college campuses across the country.
Last year, McPherson joined men such as hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons and Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings as spokespersons for the Ring the Bell Campaign, which aims to collect one million promises from one million men to end violence against women.
Carnochan and McPherson reflect individual stories and a growing trend. Both speak to common attributes of new macho men. They:
- See power-sharing as an opportunity, not a threat
- See caring for and loving their partners and children as a sign of strength
- Solve problems through dialogue and collaboration
- Thrive on competition, but not at the expense of partnership.
The answer is likely a combination of factors, including changing workforce needs, the economic necessity of two-income families, advocacy campaigns focused on equality, and increased recognition for basic principles of human rights. These trends have created conditions in which abandoning the old and embracing the new macho benefits men, their partners, and their children.
For example:
- Men who are emotionally engaged during pregnancy and participate more in childcare live longer and experience less illness.
- Toddlers of men who are engaged in supportive caregiving roles from the month after childbirth have stronger language skills and higher IQs.
- Men who report more gender-equitable attitudes and open communication with their partners are happier and have better sex lives.
- Families where women are supported to work have higher household earning potential and cope more effectively with economic shocks.
In collaboration with Behavioral Scientist and Professor Paul Dolan of the London School Economics, we have compiled a list of insights to help individuals and organizations answer this question. Think:M.A.C.H.O. M.A.N.
Messenger: Men’s trust is motivated by group affiliations. For example, men trust men that went to their university even if they have no personal connection. This mirrors the way men organize in the military or sports—a clear distinction between “us” and “them.” Initiatives aimed at changing old macho behaviors should make sure that the targeted men see the messengers as part of their “in-group.”
Affect: Emotion is a powerful force in decision-making, but we often focus on appealing to men’s rationality. When we do invoke emotions to address old macho behaviors, we frequently focus on negative feelings such as fear, shame, or guilt, provoking self-defensive biases. It’s important to offer emotional carrots too, appealing to qualities such as hope and gratitude. What’s the emotional cost of perpetuating the old macho? How will he feel by transitioning to the new macho? Be explicit.
Commitment: Public commitment is important in behavioral science. Strategies need to encourage men to make public commitments in line with the new macho. This act should be a sign of strength and power, helping tap into an “honor code” that is already closely tied to traditional conceptions of manliness.
Honor: Don’t repudiate the honor code that influences men’s social behaviors— use it. Make the behaviors we want to change come into contradiction with it. With honor comes integrity and selflessness—we need to invoke these traits under the auspices of honor to drive positive social change.
Opportunity: Well-framed messages are not enough to change behavior. Men also need to practice. As the old macho is still the dominant norm, it’s important to manufacture opportunities to practice new macho behaviors. Provide “channel factors”—convenient opportunities for men to act the new macho and experience the rewards.
Motivation: Understand what incentives men have to act the old macho—a desire for respect, power, friendship, sex? Work toward situations where old macho behaviors put these outcomes at risk. As men are highly averse to loss, this strategy creates the need to reconcile desired outcomes with a new ideal of manliness. It will help generate demand for new macho alternatives.
Abilities: If we tap into men’s emotions and motivate them to change, we must also understand how they process this information. For example, a campaign may trigger an empathic reaction, but the male brain may then shifts gears and problem-solve until it can “fix” the situation. ‘Fixing’ the situation will then cause the brain circuits to register victory – a satisfactory resolution. This means helping men learn new skills such as negotiation and mindfulness to deal with familiar problems such as conflict and anger.
Norms: In his 2004 study, “The Social Norms Approach,” Alan Berkowitz asserts: “What men think other men think is one of the strongest determinants of how men act,” but “these perceptions and beliefs are [often] mistaken.” Making new macho men more visible in society helps shift perceptions that drive behavior by establishing the new macho as the salient norm. This is why role models such as Detective Carnochan and Don McPherson are so important.
Of course, it is important to view these insights with sensitivity, particularly in relation to culture and sexuality. That said—whether the task is to promote father’s involvement in early childhood, curb bullying, or address another behavior patterned on the old macho—we believe these insights can help social change leaders design more effective strategies.
The new macho does not mark the end of manliness but its redefinition for the 21st century. The benefits are clear for men and for women, boys and girls, and society at large. Let’s make it happen.
Join us in conversation about men you see as the #newmacho on Twitter.
Lisa Witter (@lisamwitter) is an award-winning expert in the intersections of communications, technology, politics and behavior change. She is a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader and serves on their Global Agenda Council for Neuroscience and Behavior. She is the co-author of The She Spot and is mom to two soccer-obsessed sons.
Michael Feigelson (@mfeigelson1) has spent the last 15 years focused on improving opportunities for children and youth. He is currently the program director for the Bernard Van Leer Foundation, is a former Thomas J. Watson fellow and McKinsey & Company consultant, has degrees from Princeton and Wesleyan University and is the proud, new father of a beautiful baby girl.
GOVERNMENT
Reclaiming Democracy: A Plea for Political Entrepreneurship - We face daunting challenges, but political institutions cannot cope; it's time to shake up the system
By Lisa Witter & Catherine de Vries |Oct. 31, 2013
The recent shutdown of the American government uncovers not only the width of the partisan divide between Democrats and Republicans, but also a much more fundamental problem facing electoral democracies around the globe.
We are witnessing a crisis of political representation and accountability throughout the advanced industrial world and emerging markets. Citizens are deserting the political arena. Governments are in a stalemate. Trends of low electoral turnout, increasing electoral volatility, and shrinking political party and voluntary movement membership are just some of the symptoms.
Many factors contribute to this crisis, but five different-yet-interrelated phenomena are central to it: myopia, unaccountability, complexity, the decline of political parties, and a talent deficit.
Political Myopia: Political myopia, or short-sightedness, manifests itself among voters and politicians. Although accusations of short-sighted politicians are often cast aside as mere ideological banter, evidence suggests that many political parties are increasingly catch-all in outlook and favor winning elections to acquire power over sticking to policy ideals (see, for example, “Why Do Parties Change Position?” and “Causes and Electoral Consequences of Party Policy Shifts in Multiparty Elections”). Rather than presenting visions for society and policy, parties are engaged in a sort of GPS-politics aiming to identify blocs of voters that will aid them with victory. Partly as a response to voters—who are increasingly fickle in their partisan loyalties—many parties, especially those of the mainstream left and right, have shaken off their ideological feathers, comprised on long-term policy ideals, and favored short-term electoral gains over long-term growth. Voters alike seem to have taken on the role of political shareholders characterized by impatience, unrealistic expectations, and a focus on the short-term.
Unaccountable Governing Bodies and Societal Complexity: The recent global financial and economic crisis exacerbates the overall lack of long-range perspective in thinking or planning. Real policy solutions are scarce. What is more, policy authority is rapidly transferring from the hands of elected officials to technocrats working in banks, rating agencies, and unelected and unaccountable governing bodies such as the European Commission or International Monetary Fund. This hampers political representation and accountability through elections even further. While democratic institutions have many self-stabilizing capacities, we cannot be sanguine about a positive outcome to the current crisis. One reason for this is that political institutions are managing representation and accountability in a time of dramatic social and economic transformation, resulting in hugely increasing, multidimensional diversity. The ”old politics” of left and right are eroding, and globalized economics has had a fracturing impact on politics. With this, citizens are much less rooted in traditional civil society—unions and business, church and local community—while the challenges of understanding politics have increased dramatically beyond citizens’ capacity to process it.
The Decline of the Party: Historically, political parties have been the most successful forms of citizen-democracy linkage. Yet it is well known that political parties are in decline—in their membership, levels of public identification, and links to civil society. Once regarded as an essential safeguard for democracy, political parties seem like outmoded organizations that may stand in the way of democratic renewal rather than promoting it. The increase in technocratic governance and the demise of mainstream political parties provides a fertile breeding ground for extremist politics. Right-wing populist parties in East-Central and Western Europe, as well as the Tea Party in the United States, are gaining strong political footholds. Nuanced political answers to the world’s complex political problems aren’t gaining much traction in public discourse.
Talent Deficit: Ask any businessperson about the key to their company’s success, and the good ones will answer: the talent. Part of the problem we face is that the broken political system scares away much-needed political talent. How many people do you know who are chomping at the bit to run for office or get involved with government? The personal stakes involved in running, and either winning or losing, are too high, and the hopes of actually accomplishing anything if elected are overshadowed by the prospects of gridlock and corruption.
A Call for a Political Entrepreneurship Movement: Although the magnitude and complexity of problems that most societies face today may turn many away from political action, they could also present a motor for change. What can we do to mend broken linkages between political and public officials and voters? What role can technology and the anthropological changes sweeping in because of it positively play? These dire political times call for a new and long-term rethinking of the political entrepreneurship movement.
Can a group of political entrepreneurs fighting for sustainability in nature, schools, streets, workplaces, or the marketplace reclaim the political arena and ignite enthusiasm for politics? If we truly care about the state of our world, democracy, and economy, the answer must be yes. If so, the question becomes how?How can political entrepreneurs develop new modes of citizen-politics linkage, and develop policies that work and solve the problems we face? Who are these entrepreneurs? Where are they, and what can we do to excite, support, and engage them in change?
Beyond that, the system itself must change. Here are some suggestions for how we can make this happen:
Politics Through People: More Talent, Fewer Tribes
We need to better connect people with politics. Instead of political parties functioning as tribes, which are closed and divisive in nature, we can organize people within an inclusive community that is designated as a pool for talent and new ideas. In other words, is it time to kill the political party or so radically change it that it becomes unrecognizable? Technology can be a great facilitator to this but alone is not the answer.
Evidence-Based Public Policy: More Evidence, Less Ideology
Rather than crafting policy around partisan warfare over a healthcare bill or a school voucher, we should take lessons from social organizations that experiment with solutions to a problem on a small scale before they implement a large-scale program—think Esther Dulfo’s work on the success of aid provided by international organizations or NGOs. And, specifically, what role does behavioral science play in informing these evidence-base solutions?
Open and Accountable Politics: More Transparency, Less Strategy
How can we restore faith in public officials? Whistle-blowing has been and will likely always be an important accountability tool. Scandals such as Wikileaks have intensified the crisis of representation and accountability. The new political entrepreneurs must take ownership and develop transparency mechanisms such as annual reports, full financial disclosure, and vote-tracking websites. There are great examples of this at the Sunlight Foundation.
Popping the Cynicism Bubble and Crowdsourcing Solutions
The topics of politics and reform are often disheartening. In the United States, The Daily Show is both a source of comic relief, and important political analysis; it also helps fuel to the cynicism flame. This cynicism guarantees continued business as usual—or worse. Every day we don’t act, the problem compounds, and we are hopeful that a new generation—defined by point-of-view and not age—will emerge to chart a new path.
An International Call
It is time to call together an international, collaborative community of political entrepreneurs. We’ve seen the great contributions of the social entrepreneurship movement. Let’s build on that, as well as the sparks of existing political entrepreneurs, to enhance democracy. Academia, philanthropy, social investors, and those who care about democracy need to facilitate and fund it.
The above are just some of the questions and ideas we need to explore on the topic of political entrepreneurship. Please tweet your ideas, question and examples of political entrepreneurs to #polient.
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Graphic map of session Lisa moderated at the World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council meeting in Abu Dhabi, UAE - November 2013. Map created by a member of The ValueWeb.
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