“Change is rarely straightforward. It’s more often a spiraling process: circling around the same issues, revisiting them, deepening the understanding, shifting the ground.”
—Rebecca Solnit
For liberals, it is harrowing to admit that we have lost ground on nearly every progressive cause, especially after the passing of the “big beautiful bill.” If we want to gain that ground back—and perhaps more crucially, set ourselves up for a future in which it is not so easily ceded—then we need to look critically at what has not been working for our movement and re-strategize. This week, I’m sharing a few strategic levers I’ve been thinking about for creating change—and that I’m feeling energized to embrace when Atmos returns from our summer pause in two weeks.
Marry principles with strategy. I believe in the importance of moral clarity. But too often, we mistake having principles for having a strategy, when we need both. For example, during the 2024 election, some progressives withheld support for Kamala Harris because she did not fully call for an arms embargo on Israel. The critique was morally legitimate, but the strategy left us with even less leverage to influence the genocide in Gaza, which has reached new levels of horror in recent weeks. This is the paradox we must face: holding moral clarity while making hard, strategic choices that will actually protect the most vulnerable.
Avoid echo chambers. Many of us spend our days reading “the discourse” online—which is actually no longer discourse at all. The most radical among liberals and conservatives shout their views, which are favored by algorithms. These views then become what people assume everyone on the other side believes. It creates an appearance of flattened polarity, and we stop thinking about how to reach the majority of Americans who hold a constellation of diverse beliefs. We focus on gaining the approval of those who already share our views, rather than creating real dialogue with those who don’t—thus reinforcing the echo chambers that foster extremism.
Learn the art of persuasion. We feel that if we have strong enough conviction, then we should be able to convince anyone of anything. But conservatives have equally strong convictions. And shouting at people that something is right or wrong is rarely an effective way to change minds. I see this firsthand in the fight for trans rights, and have personally found that sharing my experience is more effective than demanding other people change their behavior. When the conversation begins with shouts to adopt new language or worldviews, it can shut down before it starts. Persuasion requires empathy and listening, not just evidence.
Abandon purity politics. The refusal to engage in dialogue also happens within progressive circles. If someone doesn’t share all of our views, we refuse to work with them. We have to stop alienating people simply because their beliefs don’t perfectly align with ours, or because they don’t use the language that we would. We need to see everyone as a potential ally, rather than jump at the opportunity to label them an enemy. And building broad coalitions doesn’t have to mean compromising on our causes, but rather highlighting the areas where they overlap.
Widen our tent. If we want to create a bigger movement, we ultimately need to expand who sees themselves reflected in it, and speak to the issues that the majority of Americans care about. I was personally heartened by the victory of New York City Democratic mayoral primary candidate Zohran Momdani for this reason. He cares about progressive causes, but he also made a grassroots campaign of going door to door and speaking with working-class New Yorkers about the main issues that impact them on a daily basis: largely, affordability and the economy.
Shift from all or nothing thinking. Take the climate crisis: When communicated only in terms of crucial targets, missed marks lead the public to believe we are doomed. I understand the value of these deadlines to underscore urgency—and we must do everything in our power to meet them in order to avoid worst-case scenarios—but the science doesn’t actually say there is a point at which we are done for. It says that every degree of warming matters and carries increased risks. The current administration has challenged progress, but that doesn’t mean that it’s over or that we should give up.
It is a hallmark of life that it adapts and evolves in order to survive. As a movement, I believe we are capable of doing the same. We can bring our values to life if we message them effectively, act with purpose, avoid extremism, widen our tents, ditch the purity tests, and hold a long view. Nature is nothing if not strategic, and humans are a part of nature. So let’s embrace the best of human nature and continue working toward a thriving future, both in theory and practice.
Biome
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