Daniel Yudkin

My takeaway from @spspnews.bsky.social's #SPSP26?

Maybe the fact that there's little precedent for this work means it has the potential to meet the moment.

Maybe it's OK if what you do takes a little longer to explain.

Maybe it's a sign you’re on the right track.

This work is new and hard to explain. There is little precedent for this type of work in my field. People don't have a neat little "box" that they can slot it into.

But if we want to escape our current rut in American politics, we need new ideas—ones that sound weird at first.

When asked at @spspnews.bsky.social what I've been up to, I told folks that the Beacon Project at @moreincommonus.bsky.social is building a new vision for America's Exhausted Majority.

What's the Beacon Project? What do you mean by vision? By the time I answered, people's eyes had glazed over.

Hey psychology friends! If you’re at #SPSP2026, stop by the Morality or Political Psychology precons to see my poster on ideological differences in moral dilemma judgments.

We find liberals are more likely than conservatives to excuse low-power individuals for wrongdoing.

What does it mean to be brave right now? Watch now | A conversation with Ted Johnson, columnist at The Washington Post

I had a fascinating conversation with Ted Johnson, Senior Fellow at @newamerica.org and columnist at @washingtonpost.com, on civic bravery and how its incumbent on us as ‘moral patriots’ to call out our nation’s institutions when they fall short.

open.substack.com/pub/thebeaco...

YouTube video by Paul Rader Is Potentialism the Key to American Civic Renewal? w/ Daniel Yudkin | Politics with Paul #79

Can we realign civic life with the values of America's Exhausted Majority? I've obsessed over this question for 10 years & I believe the answer is yes.

Grateful to Paul Rader for the thoughtful dialogue on potentialism and civic renewal. Give it a listen: www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-Ve...

Don’t be fooled: Trumpism is not a monolithic movement. Our hidden gem of the week maps the diverse sections whose shared disgust at elite power and “wokeness” masks sharp splits over democracy and America's future.

By @dyudkin.bsky.social et al. at @moreincommonus.bsky.social

buff.ly/CK7zFIs

The Four Types of Trump Supporter The president’s political power depends on his ability to play different roles for different parts of his coalition.

The Four Types of Trump Supporter: The president’s political power depends on his ability to play different roles for different parts of his coalition.
(@dyudkin.bsky.social and Stephen Hawkins)
www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...

Civic Responsibility in America Our country is increasingly polarized. As we approach America's 250th anniversary, it is important to remember the civic responsibilities we all share. Explore how 5,000 Americans think about civic re...

Our challenge isn't forcing agreement on the "right" way to be a citizen—it's recommitting to the common ground that makes our disagreements survivable.

What do YOU think good citizenship requires? Explore the data and take the quiz at civicprofile.us.

BUT, we're divided on what we think is most important.

More than 4 in 5 Democrats say “supporting equality” is a civic responsibility vs. two-thirds of Republicans.

Meanwhile, nearly three-quarters of Republicans view “loving America” as a civic duty vs. fewer than half of Democrats.

We found that across the political spectrum, Americans strongly agree that civic responsibility matters.

A vast majority of Democrats and Republicans alike say we have a responsibility to vote, pay taxes, serve on juries, respect the Constitution, defend freedom, and help our communities.

In @usatoday.com, I reflect on the Beacon Project's new research that asked 5,000 Americans: What are our civic responsibilities?

We found a country not divided over whether citizenship matters, but one with different ideas about what good citizenship looks like.

www.usatoday.com/story/opinio...

My latest piece for @usatoday.com reminds us that America has never been about sameness. From the beginning, this country has depended on people who show up differently, bring different gifts and express commitment in different ways. www.usatoday.com/story/opinio...

Our Civic Culture Needs Mending. Potentialism Can Help. Or: On Spinning Wheels and Handmaid's Tales.

#Potentialism, a new political philosophy from the Beacon Project at @MoreinCommon_US offers a way forward that preserves both freedom and mutual responsibility.

Read more: thebeaconproject.substack.com/p/our-civic-...

In order to fix our civic culture, we need to restore our bonds of mutual obligation. The problem is that most of the ideas for how we do this are bad.

Fixing democracy isn't just about reforming institutions—it's about mending civic culture.

Folks like Robert Putnam and James Davison Hunter argue that our current political problems are the result not just of a culture of individualism that places the “me” over the “we.”

Lessons in Marshmallow Hunting, Part II Celebrating the Beacon Project's 1-year anniversary

Last year I gave up on my lifelong dream of being a university professor and venture out in search of "other marshmallows." Little did I know I'd find a Reese's instead.

Lessons in Marshmallow Hunting, Part II
open.substack.com/pub/thebeaco...

The idea is straightforward but has big implications for everything from polarization to loneliness to AI.

This post is the first in a series explaining the framework: thebeaconproject.substack.com/p/introducin...

What do you think? Can potentialism help?

At The Beacon Project at @moreincommonus.bsky.social, we’ve spent five years developing a new civic vision that speaks to America's Exhausted Majority.

We call it potentialism.

It starts with a simple maxim: Everyone has a gift — and the right and responsibility to develop and share it.

Something in America is deeply broken.

It’s tempting to think the fix lies in the next policy or election—but our challenges run deeper than that. We need a new way of thinking about what we owe each other and what it means to be American.

Call it a new “civic vision.”

Thanks Cato Institute, Sphere Education Initiatives, Allan Carey, Sarah Lane and the all the teacher fellows for the wonderful opportunity to speak with you.

3. Look for “both-and” opportunities. The best ideas emerge when we combine seemingly contradictory ideas in new and creative ways.

2. Speak to—and listen to—people’s core beliefs. When we dig below the surface and start to ask *why* people hold the views they do, it helps us connect

I closed with three pieces of advice for anyone seeking to navigate difference in a polarized climate:

1. Break out of the 50/50 mindset. Today’s discourse leads people to believe there are only two options, but it’s just not the case.

I told them as much during my talk, where I spoke about America’s Exhausted Majority, about Perception Gaps, and about Potentialism: a new framework coming soon from the Beacon Project that we believe may help to bridge some of our deepest divides.

namely, conversations between our nation’s young people, trying to make sense of an increasingly fraught and complicated world, forming opinions and developing skill sets that will accompany them for the rest of their lives.

But also because the group of people I would be speaking to—middle and high school teachers who are navigating questions about polarization, civil discourse, and disagreement—is on the front lines of some of the most important conversations happening in our country right now:

When I was invited to be the Keynote Speaker at the Cato Institute’s Sphere Alumni Fellowship kickoff event last Friday, I was thrilled. Not just because I was honored to present almost ten years of More in Common’s work in political polarization at a well-respected think tank.

A semantic map of the situations described across all posts. The most frequently occurring situations pertained to family (21%), the office (8.4%), and weddings (4.2%).

Reddit’s AITA? board is a goldmine of data on how real people conceptualize and solve moral dilemmas. A study of posts on the board finds that the nature of the relationships between people in a dilemma is central to moral decision making. In PNAS Nexus: academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...

What makes people assholes?
Fascinating research by @dyudkin.bsky.social et al of 370k everyday moral dilemmas on Reddit's “Am I the Asshole?” reveals
→ 29 types of dilemma
→ relational obligations most common
→ dishonesty most often condemned
→…and much more!

academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...