"The transformation of American public opinion on same-sex marriage is among the most remarkable and rapid shifts in moral consciousness ever recorded. Since the late 1980s, public approval of the practice climbed from 11 per cent to 70 per cent, where it has remained stable since 2021. What explains this? This is in part a puzzle about democracy. On its face, democracy offers the promise of voice and foment, of revolution without war."
"At the same time, recent events confirm what a large body of research has long established: democratic publics are largely ignorant and irrational, approaching politics in roughly the same spirit as bare-chested soccer fans contesting a foul. Most of us - and particularly those of us with broadly liberal intuitions - carry around these dissonant ideas together: democracy is an open invitation to the ignorant and, at the same time, a vital instrument of social progress."
American public approval of same-sex marriage rose from 11 per cent in the late 1980s to 70 per cent by 2021. Democracy has propelled major social advances over the past century, including gay rights, labour rights, women's rights, animal welfare, environmentalism, and racial equality, notably dismantling formalised segregation in the United States. Democratic publics often remain largely ignorant and emotional, treating politics like partisan sports. Democracy can convert minority grievances into 'experiments in living'—social interventions that gradually reshape core emotions and identities. Those transformed emotions and identities enable broader public responsiveness to the grievances of marginalised groups and sustain social progress.
Read at Aeon
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