 "The Overton Window of Political Possibility helps to explain how change occurs in public policies. Representational image/Pixabay")
The term Overton window is cropping up more often in the media than ever before.
Tech billionaire Elon Musk most recently used the term in a social media post. “Don’t just open the Overton window, knock down the whole damn wall!” Musk wrote.
But what is it? The Overton window, originally named the “Window of Political Possibility” by Joseph Overton, helps to explain how changes occur in public policy. Under this term, a politician’s influence is constantly limited by a very narrow ‘window’ of ideas that society currently finds acceptable or agreeable.
The idea is that if a policy falls outside the window, it is seen as politically impossible. In this case, political players make a calculated choice by pushing that seemingly “radical” policy to test the boundaries and drag public opinion closer to their view.
Thus, effectively shifting what people think is “normal”.
Let’s take a more detailed look at the concept.