What is the Overton Window?
In the mid-1990's, Joseph P. Overton, the Senior Vice President of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, came up with a theory that explained how different politicians and public figures picked which policies to support and back. The basic idea of this theory is that policies and ideas in the box (aka the Window), are more desirable to the public, and will get that politician more supporters.
The policies and ideas that fall outside the window are considered less desirable and/or too risky and it can cause politicians to lose followers. It can be thought of as a box and whisker plot in math terms, where the policies in the box are the main focus, while the ones on the outside are considered the outliers. Most of the time a good policy will be on the outside of the window and most politicians will stay away from it due to the risk of losing supporters. Yet they will support a potentially damaging policy since it falls in the Overton Window.
What's the Problem?
The main issue about this theory is how easily the Window can be shifted. The window is mostly based on public opinion and which policies the public believe are the right ones to support. The issue with this is that public opinion can be shifted very easily based on articles and studies they read. However, some of those articles can be false and lies, however people will choose to believe it since everyone else is choosing to, which can cause policies that were originally in the window to fall out and be replaced.
So politicians can shift public opinion in order to support a certain policy and also gain supporters at the same time. This easy push of Public Agenda shows a huge issue in the Overton Window and how easily it can be manipulated to a politicians personal agenda. The Overton Window basically shows Public Opinion, instead of which policies would actually help further the country forward. And politicians will watch the Overton Window very closely in order help them gain supporters, which could lead to them winning elections and gaining more overall power.
Conclusion
In Conclusion, The Overton Window is the main thing that keeps politicians from choosing an unpopular idea or policy. This idea is the guideline that they will use in order to keep gaining followers and supporters for their campaigns and other ventures. The Overton Window can also be easily be shifted by Public Opinion, which is also easily shifted by a change in Political Agenda. This shift in opinions can change which policies are in and out of the Overton Window.
The Overton Window is always watched closely by public figures and politicians in order to keep them in the public's good side, since they basically control which policies are in, and which are out. This idea has made keeping up with policies easier for everyone, however it has made it easier to sway the public opinion and put policies forward and take policies out.
No comments:
Post a Comment