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Countering Objections
Responses to 10 Potential Objections to Our Developmental Political Approach
How can you justify your claims that the developmental perspective is “higher” or “more evolved”?
Anyone who wants to make the world a better place must be willing to point in the direction of “better.” Even those who advocate value relativism are, ironically, nevertheless claiming that their interpretation is superior. Developmentalists don’t claim to know what’s better with certainty or finality—we seek to continuously improve our definition of improvement itself. Nor do we claim that the developmental worldview is absolutely better than the worldviews of progressivism, modernism, or traditionalism. We advocate the developmental perspective primarily because it’s more inclusive, because it encompasses a wider range of values, and because it has greater explanatory power than these other value frames.
Our Invitation to All Sides
The developmental approach to politics welcomes anyone, from anywhere on the political spectrum, willing to dialogue and seek solutions in good faith. To find out more about how developmentalism attempts to include your political values, please select the circle that best represents your political identity:
Click on each circle to read more
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Are You A Developmentalist?
Take a 2-minute test of your political developmentalism, and see your “transcendence and inclusion score.”
This simple test asks you to select your level of agreement or disagreement with twelve political statements. The test results will indicate your inclusivity score, your transcendence score, and the overall extent of your developmental perspective on politics.
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This series of graphics shows how America’s three major worldviews—progressive, modern, and traditional—map onto the familiar political spectrum of left and right. As journalist George Packer writes in The Atlantic Magazine, there are now “four Americas,” which he labels Just America, Smart America, Free America, and Real America. We identify these same categories as Caring Values, Fairness Values, Liberty Values, and Heritage Values.
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Character Development Exercise
Become a better person through this brief exercise in character development—create your personal portrait of the good.
Answer 10 questions to create a personalized chart of what matters most to you. This chart—your Portrait of the Good—will be sent to your email address as a pdf file.
DepolarizingGPT is a political AI chatbot that gives three answers to every prompt: one from a left-wing perspective, one from a right-wing perspective, and a third answer from a depolarizing or “integrating” perspective. Try it out here.
Transform your political practices with our free 9-part video course, “Becoming Part of the Solution: A Course In Developmental Politics,” taught by Institute President Steve McIntosh.
Developmental Politics Audiobook
Steve McIntosh’s Book Developmental Politics is Now Available as an Audiobook
The Institute for Cultural Evolution is pleased to announce the publication of Developmental Politics—How America Can Grow Into a Better Version of Itself as an audiobook. This acclaimed book of political philosophy was written by Steve McIntosh, the Institute’s President and Co-Founder, and narrated by Josh Innerst. Originally published in print format in 2020, Developmental Politics has had a wide influence, and the book’s success has been instrumental in the growth of the Institute for Cultural Evolution as an organization. You can purchase the Developmental Politics audiobook here and listen to a sample below:
