Civility Unbound: Contesting a Democratic Value

An urgent interrogation of an eroding norm

Amidst unprecedented turmoil in American Democracy―as norms of conduct in our institutions erode and polarizing, combative behavior is increasingly rewarded―an acclaimed group of thought leaders, policymakers, artists, activists, and scholars interrogate a cornerstone of American politics and society: civility.

In Civility Unbound, these luminaries examine civility and address the question of whether being “civil” is a fundamental good. Tackling the concept’s core paradoxes, they consider how those in power have defined civility to regulate the norms of “acceptable” behavior in politics. The collection features powerful contributions: Norm Ornstein discusses how tribalization has pushed political institutions to the breaking point; Jonathan Haidt describes how social media supercharges moralistic anger while dissolving trust and cooperation; Lynn Mie Itagaki unearths the ways in which civility is deployed as a means to delay or defer the pursuit of justice; Karen Jackson-Weaver recounts the history of African American women deploying civility in the fight for universal suffrage; Ricardo Maldonado uses his own life as a Puerto Rican poet as a case study to think about issues of belonging and identity; and Anthony Appiah points to how civility can be a positive means for negotiating our differences.

Together, these essays present readers with a sweeping understanding of the values that set the political environment, addressing how these conventions evolve or deteriorate over time. Ultimately, Civility Unbound offers a potential path forward for redeeming this democratic value, in the pursuit of accepting differences, facilitating dialogue, and encouraging compromise.