No matter what prospective future you think is most likely, and no matter what you personally believe is most desirable, in every future scenario our actual situation would be greatly improved by a much higher level of cooperation. Promoting greater cooperation is truly a no-regrets strategy. A movement is taking shape driven by the widely shared feeling that the polarization and vilification surging today are profoundly damaging to our country and to our future prospects. It takes no great feat of imagination to see that our success as a nation and as a species will depend on enormous cooperative endeavors going forward. Moving instead from disagreement to the attribution of evil intentions represents a descent into a more primitive arena in which our democratic values cannot survive.

Cooperation Solves Problems & Opens Opportunities

Greatly increased cooperation will be required to head us toward the future we want. That positive future remains well within our reach, but getting there will require that we both strengthen our democracy and navigate the difficult sustainability transition now underway. Increased cooperation will be essential. We'll need to avoid or resolve politically paralyzing conflicts much more often, beginning in communities and moving up to greater national and international cooperation. More >>

Cooperation is the Path to Thrive

Growing our capacity for cooperation must function as a kind of common denominator. No matter what prospective future you think is most likely, and no matter what you personally believe is most desirable, in every future scenario our actual situation would be greatly improved by a much higher level of cooperation. Promoting greater cooperation is truly a no-regrets strategy. Whatever your best-case future, greater cooperation would always be helpful and would often be vital. More >>

Overview of Cooperation Initiatives

Any process of reducing hostility will necessarily involve different levels of success. We can and should affirm a wide range of outcomes. At the low end, this may be merely a transactional albeit stressed tolerance temporarily imposed to accomplish some specific end. Moving up, we can form cross-divide alliances that are more enduring than one-off transactional accommodations. We may find, especially in local face-to-face processes, that our points of agreement can multiply. At the upper end of the spectrum, growing trust and an earned presumption of good faith can evolve. We may also find opportunities for genuine intellectual rapprochement, for at least a partial reconciliation or synthesis of views. More >>

Reaching Across Divisions is Hard

When you look below the surface of conflicts covered by the media as irreconcilable, you sometimes find dedicated bridge-building activists working to overcome these divides. They help us learn to avoid responding to anger with anger, learn to recognize when people are just arguing over words, and learn to compensate for biases and instinctive reactions that can make finding common ground seem impossible. Individuals and small groups, working within local communities, can become advocates for greater cooperation. They can spot opportunities where working together could produce community benefits and where unnecessary conflicts are getting in the way. Many people reading these words have it within themselves to become such bridge-builders. More >>

Where Progress is Being Made Now

Many organizations are engaged in efforts to overcome hostility and build bridges to more a cooperative political culture. They include the Bridge Alliance, a network of nearly 100 groups aiming to find common ground. The Mediators Foundation works to reduce conflicts, and Essential Partners promotes dialogue where conflicts are driven by differences in identity, beliefs, and values. Several groups offer facilitation services to aide communities in building up their capacity to cooperate. Process reforms, such as non-partisan redistricting commissions and participatory community planning processes, can also help. More >>

Priorities for Your Personal Engagement

Abstract assessment isn’t a good starting point for thinking about your personal engagement. The better path is to carefully consider your personality, capabilities, and feelings about the “other side.” Don’t try to play roles for which you are not well-suited or well-prepared. Without supportive attitudes, you risk doing harm. The good news is that helpful attitudes and skills can be developed, so do that first. Try to identify opportunities offered by your roles in the community and be sure as well to learn as much as you can about past community conflicts. Good intentions are not enough. More >>

Making Your Own Efforts Count

Some of the most consequential interactions across divides will happen in peoples' living rooms or in small groups. We shouldn’t make the mistake of discounting the hard to measure, the intangibles that in the end could make the difference that matters most. Our struggle is much more about winning hearts than it is about winning minds. So, ask yourself. Are you a good listener? Are you seen by others as friendly? Are you naturally diplomatic? Can you anticipate or spot quickly the types of arguments that are counterproductive? Are you good at avoiding such conflicts? Or diffusing them if they get started? More >>

Resources for Building Up Cooperation

We have created modest collections of links to organizations, articles, and books of interest to people working on promoting active efforts to find common ground and increase cooperation, to reduce unproductive conflict and hostility, and to join forces as citizens to solve problems and seize opportunities.

Organizations

Articles

Books

D.C.
Published: July 2019
Revised: June 2023
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