The Atlantic

A Better Way to Look at Most Every Political Issue

Americans would be less alienated from one another and solve problems more easily if they recognized one little-noticed distinction in policy debates.
Source: Toru Hanai / Reuters

We sometimes think of political issues in binary terms. Is someone pro-life or pro-choice? But most individuals hold views that are more complicated than a binary can capture.

An alternative is to describe a given position on a spectrum. On abortion, an outright ban sits at one extreme; at the other is the elimination of all restrictions on the procedure. In between are a staggering array of coherently distinguishable positions.

Politicians seeking to win votes express their stances either in terms of a binary or as a spot on a spectrum, depending on where they see the greatest advantage. Though their beliefs don’t change, how they frame them makes a political difference.

* * *

There’s a different set of frames, though, that are as relevant

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