The Overton window: a theory about political ideology
The Overton window is a theory that helps to explain how certain ideas are legitimized before public opinion, and how, from this, a group of citizens adapts to these ideas. It is a metaphor developed by Joseph Overton, who led one of the most important public policy centers in the United States.
In this article we explain what the Overton Window consists of and why it has been a very important idea to understand how is it that a group of people can end up adopting an idea .
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The Overton window: what is it?
The Overton window is known by the person who developed the idea: Joseph Overton (1960-2003). He was the vice president of the largest political research institute in the United States, the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, located in Michigan.
Overton used the metaphor of the window with the intention of conveying the idea of a narrow and well-defined space, through which we can look at some things and not others . Like any window, it is a structure that is intentionally and strategically constructed by someone.
For example, it is not the same to put a window with a view of the sea, to put it with a view to the interior patio. Whoever builds it and places it in a place, does so with a certain intention.
In the case of public policy, and the opinions surrounding them, the people who build the window are the groups that they have a certain level of authority and political control . That is to say, it is these groups that build and move the windows through which we observe everything that happens around us.
The idea is to present an idea that, although initially unacceptable, can be defended and framed so that it gradually becomes a conceivable idea. Thus, the opinion of those affected or interested in this idea can be addressed within the margins of the window and the interests of certain political groups.
A political theory
What Overton proposed through this metaphor, is that policies that are considered viable, are thus considered mainly according to the convenience of politicians , beyond their individual interests.
These policies can be presented in a more or less narrow range, depending on how much the opinion of society varies. A) Yes, they move in a vertical range according to whether their acceptability can be extended or reduced . As a general rule, the shape of the window makes those who believe in certain ideological trends only pay attention to certain ideas, and ignore or minimize the importance of the opposing ones.
The Overton window can be moved in accordance with the current interest and the possibility of being accepted by a majority. Its limits can be made wider or narrower, depending on the idea that wants to be justified before the public opinion. That is why it is also known as "window of opportunity" and "window of acceptability".
- Related article: "Cognitive dissonance: the theory that explains self-deception"
Public opinion and political ideas
Likewise, this political theory explains that, beyond the individual references that we have about politicians, we tend to accept the political viability of their ideas because they present themselves to us under a very narrow range of possibilities.
This range makes a public policy (for example, a measure adopted to manage migration from Mexico to the United States), change from being considered "unthinkable" to "acceptable", then "sensible", "popular", and finally, as a necessary policy.
In turn, this range of possibilities it is adapted according to the characteristics of the citizens and the current state of public opinion , so that the person proposing them is perceived as a competent politician, or at least not too radical.
Strategically, some ideas can be presented as radical, so that what is "outside the window" is considered moderate and acceptable. Thus, the window can modify its limits and the place to which we turn, and even the perception itself of what we observe.
It can be applied to understand how societies are adopting and abandoning certain ideas over time, through having been defended with logical, moral and emotional criteria by the interested political group. Through this metaphor different social events could be analyzed and how they have been able to legitimize ideals and practices of all kinds, many of them dangerous.
Popularity and related works
Although the Overton Window is currently a very popular theory, it is also a fairly recent idea. It became a theory in itself after Joseph Overton died as a result of injuries suffered in an airplane accident.
His colleague, Joseph Leman was one of the people who baptized and spread it, during the first decade of the 21st century. Based on this idea, there is even a novel called The Overton window, one of the best-selling works of the American and political commentator Glenn Beck in the last decade.
Bibliographic references:
- Mackinac Center For Public Policy. (2018). Authors, Joseph P. Overton. Retrieved May 22, 2018. Available at //www.mackinac.org/bio.aspx?ID=.
- Lanchester, J. (2016). Brexit Dossier of Free Letters. 4: 5-10. Retrieved May 22, 2018. Available at //www.letraslibres.com/sites/default/files/2016-09/Dosier-lanchester-esp.pdf.
