The Overton Window: a theory of political ideology

This theory tells us about how some political ideas gain more acceptance than others.

Overton's window is a theory that helps to explain how certain ideas are legitimized in the eyes of public opinion, and how, as a result, a group of citizens becomes more in line with these ideas. It is a metaphor developed by Joseph Overton, who directed 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 for understanding how a group of people can end up adopting an idea..

Overton's window: what is it?

The Overton window is named after the person who developed the idea: Joseph Overton (1960-2003). He was the vice president of the largest policy research institute in the United States, the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, located in Michigan.

Overton used the metaphor of the window to convey the idea of a narrow, well-defined space, through which a narrow, 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 built by someone.

For example, it is not the same to put a window overlooking the sea, than to put it overlooking the inner courtyard. Whoever builds it and places it in a certain place does so with a specific intention.

In the case of public policies and the opinions surrounding them, the people who build the window are the groups that have a certain level of authority and control. have a certain level of authority and political control. That is to say, it is these groups who build and move the windows through which we observe everything that happens around us.

It is a matter of exposing an idea that, although it may seem unacceptable at first, can be defended and framed in such a way that it gradually becomes a conceivable idea. Thus, the opinion of those affected or interested by such an idea can be directed 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 so considered primarily according to the convenience of the politicians, beyond their individual interests.beyond their individual interests.

These policies can be presented in a narrower or narrower range, depending on how much the opinion of society varies. Thus, they move in a vertical range according to whether their acceptability can be broadened or narrowed.. As a rule, the shape of the window means that those who believe in a certain ideological correctness only pay attention to certain ideas, and ignore or minimize the importance of opposing ones.

The Overton window can move according to the current interest and according to the possibility of being accepted by a majority. Its limits can become wider or narrower, depending on the idea that wants to be justified to the public. That is why it is also known as "window of opportunity" and "window of acceptability".

Public opinion and political ideas

Likewise, this political theory explains that, beyond the individual references we have about politicians, we tend to accept the political viability of their ideas because they are presented to us under a very narrow range of possibilities.

Such a range makes it possible for a public policy (e.g., a measure adopted to manage migration from Mexico to the United States) to change from being considered "unthinkable" to "acceptable", then "sensible", "popular", and finally, as a necessary policy.

In turn, this range of possibilities is adjusted according to the characteristics of the citizens and the current state of public opinionThe range of possibilities, in turn, is tailored according to the characteristics of 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 towards which we turn, and even the very perception of what we observe.

It can be applied to understand how societies adopt and abandon certain ideas over time, through having been defended with logical, moral and emotional criteria by the political group concerned. Through this metaphor different social events could be analyzed and how ideals and how ideals and practices of all kinds, many of them dangerous, have been legitimized.

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 its own right after Joseph Overton died as a result of injuries sustained in the as a result of injuries sustained in a plane crash.

His colleague, Joseph Leman was one of the people who christened and spread it, during the first decade of the 21st century. Based on this idea, there is even a novel entitled The Overton Windowone of American political commentator Glenn Beck's best-selling works of the last decade.

Bibliographical references:

• Mackinac Center For Public Policy. (2018). Authors, Joseph P. Overton. Retrieved May 22, 2018. Available at http://www.mackinac.org/bio.aspx?ID=.
• Lanchester, J. (2016). Brexit. Free Letters Dossier. 4: 5-10. Retrieved 22 May 2018. Available at http://www.letraslibres.com/sites/default/files/2016-09/Dosier-lanchester-esp.pdf.