September 2025

James S. Fishkin is only well known in certain circles, but his work with deliberative democracy is something many of us ought to familiarize ourselves with simply because it is something we very much need in our polarized society. It may not be the answer, but it holds a hope to bring our various factions closer. Essentially it involves talking to each other. It means not getting information from social media, but from people, it means not holding on to opinions that stem from the bubbles of social media platforms but discussing them in person.

Such an experiment was conducted in the summer in Philadelphia where a group of people over a 4-day period attended sessions, were presented with information and discussed issues together. At the end, many had changed their minds, a lot more than had been thought. People may be staunch in their views and yet those views are not as fixed as many think, they can be moved.  The experiment in Philadelphia as other such experiments in other cities show that what people think when exposed to information they can discuss in person with others can and do shift.

 James S. Fishkin, among other titles is the director of the Deliberative Democracy Lab at Stanford University. Yes, he does represent the often-crucial work universities are involved in, but what is also relevant to us at this time in our history is that what he does, and others do with him, points to one of the tools needed to help us overcome the current impasse US democracy finds itself in.

The need for what she called a moral imagination was articulated by Jacqueline Novogratz, the founder of Acumen and pioneer in social impact investing during a recent interview with the Financial Times. “What’s needed is the moral imagination; if we’re going to build systems that include the people who’ve been overlooked and underestimated, we can’t be so distant from them.” She’s after investments and investors to participate in solving big problems like poverty. The CEOs she talks with express a sense of responsibility which ought to make the tasks possible, but it will still require finding new ways to create solutions.  Through her organization, she has proven that it can be profitable.  Acumen is partnering with banks, foundations, corporations and getting results. Nevertheless, she admits that our focus on profits needs to be balanced with our desire to find answers. The new generations she says already know that capitalism as we know it won’t solve issues like climate change and inequality. But using a moral imagination could help in creating the social impact that would help us all. It’s a great phrase and a great thought and let’s hope it provides the sought after  inspiration.

*reposted from the GGID page