Colleague, News, and Opinion Links for the Week of October 19, 2025
Newsletter #393 — October 19, 2025
by Guy Burgess and Heidi Burgess
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Highlighted Links
A few suggestions about links that we think are especially interesting.
- Social / Economic Complexity
Seventeen thoughts on the government shutdown — An inventory of the many factors that are determining the course of this particular governmental shutdown (and a larger look into the complexity of US government and the politics that surrounds it). - Israel / Hamas War
Gaza ceasefire declared: A tenuous peace — A comprehensive, public (no paywall) analysis of the Gaza cease-fire agreement from Andrew Fox and a detailed look of the kind of critically important information that most reporters skip over. - Israel / Hamas War
The Genocide Libel — A new report from the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies which separates verifiable facts from politically- otivated fiction in Gaza. - US Politics
Democrats Are in Crisis. Eat-the-Rich Populism Is the Only Answer — Yet another proposal for returning Democrats from the wilderness. This one focuses on left-leaning populism in ways that emphasize that rebellion against the elites is an of area bipartisan agreement. - Media Reform
Rawls & Rationality in the 1970s — Based on the work of John Rawls, a creative and thought-provoking way of thinking through the complex ramifications of the social media age. - Saving Democracy
How to Save the American Experiment — An argument that we can learn a lot by studying the different ways in which the United States and Germany struggled with the problems of the 1920s and 30s -- a time with many similarities to today. - Social / Economic Complexity
The Chaos of Driving in Lebanon Tells a Story of a Country Unraveled — The terrifying story of civic collapse in Lebanon and a warning about how bad things could get if we don't find a way to effectively combat our nihilistic, cynical, antagonisms. - Rule of Law
How Politics Became a Legal Battlefield — A 25-year retrospective on the emergence of political "lawfare" in the United States as a major type of political combat. - Developing a Unifying Vision
Capitalism needs honor and ethics — For the "invisible hand" of capitalism to function effectively, it must embody strong prohibitions on the kind of unethical behavior that can turn the "invisible hand" into an "invisible fist."
Reader Suggested Links
Highlighting links suggested by our readers. Please send us links to things that you find useful.
- Media Reform
Time to Refuse — An inspiring report on a major Generation Z / Generation Alpha effort to save themselves from social media by opting out. - Social / Economic Complexity
How Islands of Coherence in a Sea of Chaos Changes Social Change — When a system is far from equilibrium, small islands of coherence in a sea of chaos have the capacity to elevate the entire system to a higher order. - Education
How much would students pay to avoid ideological opposition on campus? — The report on a major study that documents the degree to which college students will seek out and enroll in institutions that are less ideologically diverse and more closely aligned with their personal beliefs. - US Politics
Democrats Still Have No Idea What Went Wrong — Another story about the Democrats continuing struggle to reconcile their theory of politics and political change with voter rejection of their favored approach. - Rule of Law
Ancient Wisdom: How a Supreme Court Justice Changed My Life — An illuminating chance to look beyond the now dominant cynical view of politics and the judicial system and hear about the thinking of one person who really tried to do the right thing. - Progressive Left
The Rise of ‘Conspiracy Physics’ — Another example of why so many people have concluded that the DEI mindset went too far. - Saving Democracy
The Race to Save America’s Democracy — Worries about the upcoming US election from a prominent expert on authoritarianism, Garry Kasparov.
Colleague Activities
Highlighting things that our conflict and peacebuilding colleagues are doing that contribute to efforts to address the hyper-polarization problem.
- Civil Society
Community Foundations and Civic Renewal — National philanthropy cannot pull democracy out of the ditch. Community foundations—with local knowledge, networks, accountability and continuity—are better positioned to help lead a civic renewal. - Bridge Building
Bridge Builders’ Handbook — A handbook to help people think like a Bridge Builder; to find ways to solve problems, strengthen relationships and build more connected communities. - Immigration
Debunked: 7 Myths About Immigration — Much of what we think we know about immigration is rooted in myths. But when we cut through the noise and look at evidence, history, and global context, the picture becomes less divisive and more practical. - Violence
From Words To Violence: Countering Extremist Rhetoric In Democratic Societies — Drawing on recent research in political psychology, comparative analysis of global democratic backsliding, and evidence from successful counter-messaging initiatives, this report proposes a comprehensive framework for protecting democratic discourse. - Bridge Building
Bridging Movement Summit Recap — Takeaways from Listen First Project's first ever in-person gathering. - Violence
Violence Prevention Starts with Good Engagement — While national politics is engendering increased distrust of government and political violence, local governments are finding new routes for de-escalation, civility, and problem-solving. - Freedom of Speech
The Free Speech Double Standard — One of the most persistent myths is that censorship is only a problem on the other side of the political spectrum. In reality, both conservatives and liberals have used government power to try to shut down speech they dislike. - Civil Society
Beyond the Ballot Box: Takeaways from the National Conference on Citizenship — Allison Ralph emphasized several themes: Let the locals lead, citizenship is more than voting, the bridging field is becoming the acting-collaborately field, among others. - Corruption
The death of scandal — A look back at the time when the scandalous things that political leaders would do turned into real scandals (and reflections about why that isn't happening anymore). - De-Escalation Strategies
Seven Ways to Slice & Dice the Us-vs-Them Bogeyman — Many people think that us-vs-them framing is unavoidable, but it isn't. And that belief freezes us into inaction. - Class Inequity
Civity Stories: Going to the “Heart” of NIMBY Resistance to Affordable Housing — The report about fair share housing allocations in California illuminates the reasons why relationships are an essential component of domestic peacebuilding and conflict resolution work. - Freedom of Speech
Fighting Forward: Free speech, due process, and belonging in a time of fear — To fight forward means to defend rights, not simply to preserve the past, but to carve out a future where belonging is real. It means standing up when our principles are under attack, even when the law is unclear. - Saving Democracy
Investing in Freedom: How Democracy Shapes Long-Term Value with Lauren Caplan & Philippe Bolopion — This video explores the global trend of democratic backsliding, the clear links between democracy and economic growth, and how exposure to autocratic regimes creates long-term risks for investors.
News and Opinion
From around the web, more insight into the nature of our conflict problems, limits of business-as-usual thinking, and things people are doing to try to make things better. (Formerly, Beyond Intractability in Context.)
- Superpower Conflict
The Liberal-International Order Will Survive — An upbeat assessment of the likelihood that the world order that we have become accustomed to will adapt and survive. - Social / Economic Complexity
The West Is Lost — An intriguing essay that takes a hard look at our civilization's belief in unending progress (with reflections on what might happen if that turns out to be not possible). - Psychological Complexity
Steven Pinker on How Common Knowledge Rules Our Lives — An interview with Steven Pinker and an exploration of his new book on cognitive psychology: "When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows…:Common Knowledge and the Mysteries of Money, Power, and Everyday Life." - Superpower Conflict
How foreign powers are gaslighting Americans — Amid the debate about the politicalization of anti-disinformation efforts, news that foreign powers really are taking advantage of our open society to spread propaganda and sow division. - Saving Democracy
The Making or Breaking of Democracy — From Joseph Stiglitz, a report on the Democracia Siempre (Democracy Always) movement and its efforts to oppose democratic backsliding around the world and, especially, in the US. - Saving Democracy
Meet the Lawmakers Trying to Bring Civility Back to Politics — Another, "if it's being done, it must be possible" This one looks at state legislators who are trying to rebuild our civic culture. - Race / Anti-Racism
Which Violence Against Black Lives Actually Matters? — The thought-provoking report that explores why some violent threats to black lives receive lots of attention, while others are neglected. - Social / Economic Complexity
How the West was wrought — A thought-provoking essay that asks us to look back at our history and the cultural wisdom that has been accumulated through the ages. - Social / Economic Complexity
Kindred spirits on the left and right believe in a New Deal fable — A rare comparison of popular beliefs about the success of the New Deal with seldom heard stories about its failings. - Rule of Law
Lawfare Makes Us All Less Free — In the context of the Comey indictment, an essay exploring the many ways in which Trump's politically motivated prosecutions are threatening our democratic institutions. - Israel / Hamas War
Historian Skewers Western Hypocrisy on Israel — A pretty compelling argument that Western countries are expecting Israel to do vastly more to limit civilian casualties that they were willing to do in their own conflicts. - Education
The End of Thinking — An our exploration of the flipside of artificial intelligence - US Politics
The Rise of America’s Young Socialists—From the 2008 Financial Crisis to Mamdani — A profile of the young leaders who have built the United States' socialist movement into a rising political force. - Authoritarianism
Why Is the American Experiment in Trouble? Simple: A Demagogue Has Ignited the ‘Dark Passions’ of the People — A lengthy introduction plus links to reviews of four books that help us understand the darker side of the human spirit and the psychological dynamics that leave people vulnerable to the appeals of aspiring authoritarians.
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About the MBI Newsletters
Two or three times a week, Guy and Heidi Burgess, the BI Directors, share some of our thoughts on political hyper-polarization and related topics. We also share essays from our colleagues and other contributors, and every week or so, we devote one newsletter to annotated links to outside readings that we found particularly useful relating to U.S. hyper-polarization, threats to peace (and actual violence) in other countries, and related topics of interest. Each Newsletter is posted on BI, and sent out by email through Substack to subscribers. You can sign up to receive your copy here and find the latest newsletter here or on our BI Newsletter page, which also provides access to all the past newsletters, going back to 2017.
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