What’s Our Problem?

Hello, hope you had a great weekend! 
 
Last week I signed an Open Letter to pause the deployment of new generative AI tools for 6 months and discussed the topic on CNBC.  Technology is speeding up in a way that will impact all of us and our government is way behind the curve. 

Then, the news came out that Donald Trump was indicted by a New York grand jury, the first ex-President to have criminal charges brought against him in our nation’s history. 
 
Why do our politics feel so backwards?  For a compelling perspective, I sat with Tim Urban, who runs the very popular blog Wait But Why and came out with a new e-book on the topic, “What’s Our Problem?  A self-help book for societies.” 
 
Tim proposes that our usual left-right politics misses an important dimension - whether we are using our higher mind or primitive mind.  He cites 4 levels of thinking: Scientist (seeking facts), Sports Fan (values the contest), Attorney (arguing a side), and Zealot (defeat the enemy).  The two higher levels are rational and constructive.  The lower two levels are more concerned with being proven right and arguing for their tribe than having any positive outcome. 

The problem in Tim’s view is that our politics have been overcome by the lower levels, where polarization has turned things into a good vs. evil struggle as opposed to the higher levels that are genuinely interested in policies and solutions.  “Polarizing people is a good way to win an election, and also a good way to wreck a country.”  Tim catalogs how low-rung politics have become more pronounced on both sides, where every day is an ideological battle instead of a conversation, and details how social media supercharges this dynamic. 
 
If this sounds familiar, the Forward Party is doing all we can to reward higher-rung politics via Ranked Choice Voting and other reforms while discouraging lower-rung extremism. 

What does Tim think is our way out?  Tim recommends that we stop saying things we don’t believe, start saying what we really think with people we know well, and eventually work ourselves up to saying what we really think in public.  These acts would help break up the enforced tribalism that degrades many of our conversations. 
 
There is MUCH more to Tim’s work, including a brief history of humanity and how each party has evolved over the past number of years.  I highly recommend it. 
 
Tim wrote the book because he’s deeply concerned that we are heading toward a precipice and are not equipped as a society to address modern challenges. “More technology means higher stakes” is how Tim put it.  He’s right.  Let’s help our country rise to the occasion and activate the higher levels of our politics before it’s too late. 
 
For my interview with Tim, click here.  For Tim’s book click here.  To check out how Forward is improving our politics in your state, click here. 
 
Forward is making a fundraising push – please consider donating today!