Hostname: page-component-788cddb947-jbjwg Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-10-15T05:31:11.638Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The Mindsets of Political Compromise

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 November 2010

Amy Gutmann
Affiliation:
University of Pennsylvania. E-mail: president@upenn.edu
Dennis Thompson
Affiliation:
Harvard University. E-mail: dennis_thompson@harvard.edu

Abstract

Political compromise is difficult in American democracy even though no one doubts it is necessary. It is difficult for many reasons, including the recent increase in political polarization that has been widely criticized. We argue that the resistance to compromise cannot be fully appreciated without understanding its source in the democratic process itself, especially as conducted in the U.S. The incursion of campaigning into governing in American democracy—the so called “permanent campaign”—encourages political attitudes and arguments that make compromise more difficult. These constitute what we call the uncompromising mindset, characterized by politicians' standing on principle and mistrusting opponents. This mindset is conducive to campaigning, but not to governing, because it stands in the way of necessary change and thereby biases the democratic process in favor of the status quo. The uncompromising mindset can be kept in check by an opposite cluster of attitudes and arguments—the compromising mindset—that inclines politicians to adapt their principles and respect their opponents. This mindset is more appropriate for governing, because it enables politicians more readily to recognize and act on opportunities for desirable compromise. We explore the dynamics of these mindsets by examining the processes that led to the compromises on tax reform in 1986 and health care reform in 2010.

Type
Reflections
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abramowitz, Alan I. 2010. The Disappearing Center: Engaged Citizens, Polarization and American Democracy, New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Alter, Jonathan. 2010. The Promise: President Obama, Year One, New York: Simon & Schuster.Google Scholar
Baker, Peter, and Hulse, Carl. 2010. “Off Script, Obama and the G.O.P. Vent Politely,” New York Times (January 30): A1.Google Scholar
Benditt, Theodore M. 1979. “Compromising Interests and Principles.” In NOMOS XXI: Compromise in Ethics, Law and Politics, eds. Pennock, J. Roland and Chapman, John W.. New York: New York University Press.Google Scholar
Benjamin, Martin. 1990. Splitting the Difference: Compromise and Integrity in Ethics and Politics. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas.Google Scholar
Besson, Samantha. 2005. The Morality of Conflict: Reasonable Disagreement and the Law. Oxford and Portland, OR: Hart Publishing.Google Scholar
Birnbaum, Jeffrey, and Murray, Alan. 1988. Showdown at Gucci Gulch. New York: Vintage.Google Scholar
Blumler, Jay G., and Gurevitch, Michael. 2001. “‘Americanization’ Reconsidered: U.K.–U.S. Campaign Communications Across Time.” In Mediated Politics, eds. Bennett, W. Lance and Entman, Robert M.. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Boehner, John. 2009. “Taxpayer-Funded Abortion Is Not Health-Care Reform.” National Review Online (July 23). (http://www.nationalreview.com/critical-condition/48614/taxpayer-funded-abortion-not-health-care-reform/john-boehner), accessed September 3, 2010.Google Scholar
Bohman, James. 1996. Public Deliberation: Pluralism, Complexity, and Democracy. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Bradley, Bill. 2009. “Tax Reform's Lesson for Health Care Reform.” New York Times (August 30): WK9.Google Scholar
Brady, David, and Fiorina, Morris. 2000. “Congress in the Era of the Permanent Campaign.” In The Permanent Campaign and Its Future, eds. Mann, Thomas and Ornstein, Norman. Washington, DC: American Enterprise Institute.Google Scholar
Brownstein, Ronald. 2007. The Second Civil War: How Extreme Partisanship Has Paralyzed Washington and Polarized America. New York: The Penguin Press.Google Scholar
Bush, George H. W. 1988. “Address Accepting the Presidential Nomination at the Republican National Convention in New Orleans, August 18, 1988.” (http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=25955), accessed September 3, 2010.Google Scholar
Carens, Joseph H. 1979. “Compromise in Politics.” In NOMOS XXI: Compromise in Ethics, Law and Politics, eds. Pennock, J. Roland and Chapman, John W.. New York: New York University Press.Google Scholar
Chong, Dennis, and Druckman, James N.. 2007. “Framing Theory.” Annual Review of Political Science 10: 103–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cohn, Jonathan. 2010. “How They Did It: The Inside Account of Health Care Reform's Triumph.” The New Republic (June 10): 1425.Google Scholar
Conlan, Timothy J., Wrightson, Margaret T., and Beam, David R.. 1989. Taxing Choices: The Politics of Tax Reform. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly Press.Google Scholar
DeLay, Tom. 2006. Farewell Address, U.S. House of Representatives (June 8). Congressional Quarterly Transcripts, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/08/AR2006060801376.html, accessed September 3, 2010.Google Scholar
Demer, Lisa. 2009. “Murkowski: Don't Tell Lies about the Health-Care Reform Bill.” Anchorage Daily News (August 11). (http://www.adn.com/2009/08/11/895431/murkowski-dont-tell-lies-about.html), accessed September 3, 2010.Google Scholar
Disch, Lisa, Aldrich, John H., Carothers, Thomas, and Dalton, Russell J.. 2009. “Parties, Partisanship, and Democratic Politics.” Review symposium for On the Side of the Angels: An Appreciation of Parties and Partisanship, by Nancy Rosenblum. Perspectives on Politics 7(3): 621629.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dobel, J. Patrick. 1990. Compromise and Political Action. Savage, MD: Rowman and Littlefield.Google Scholar
Druckman, James N. 2010. “What's It All About? Framing in Political Science.” In Perspectives on Framing, ed. Keren, Gideon. New York: Psychology Press/Taylor & Francis.Google Scholar
Dworkin, Ronald. 1986. Law's Empire. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Fiorina, Morris P., and Abrams, Samuel J.. 2008. “Political Polarization in the American Public.” Annual Review of Political Science 11: 563588.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fiorina, Morris P., Abrams, with Samuel J., and Pope, Jeremy C.. 2010. Culture War? The Myth of a Polarized America. 3rd ed. New York: Longman.Google Scholar
Gutmann, Amy, and Thompson, Dennis. 1996. Democracy and Disagreement. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Gutmann, Amy, and Thompson, Dennis. 2004. Why Deliberative Democracy? Princeton: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hacker, Jacob S. 2010. “The Road to Somewhere: Why Health Reform Happened Or Why Political Scientists Who Write about Public Policy Shouldn't Assume They Know How to Shape It.” Perspectives on Politics 8(4): 861876.Google Scholar
Hatch, Orrin. 2009. “Statement by Senator Orrin Hatch on the Passing of Senator Ted Kennedy August 26, 2009.” (http://hatch.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Detail&PressRelease_id=56fbf55f-1b78-be3e-e00e-6c461ee9373e), accessed September 3, 2010.Google Scholar
Heclo, Hugh. 2000. “Campaigning and Governing: A Conspectus.” In The Permanent Campaign and Its Future, eds. Mann, Thomas and Ornstein, Norman. Washington, DC: American Enterprise Institute.Google Scholar
Ignatieff, Michael. 2007. “Getting Iraq Wrong.” New York Times Magazine (August 5). (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/05/magazine/05iraq-t.html), accessed September 3, 2010.Google Scholar
Jones, Charles O. 1998. Passages to the Presidency: From Campaigning to Governing. Washington, DC: The Brookings Institute Press.Google Scholar
Kuflik, Arthur. 1979. “Morality and Compromise.” In NOMOS XXI: Compromise in Ethics, Law and Politics, eds. Pennock, J. Roland and Press, John W. Chapman. New York University, 3865.Google Scholar
Kuttner, Robert. 2000. “Comment: Why Liberals Need Radicals.” American Prospect (May 22). (http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=why_liberals_need_radicals), accessed September 3, 2010.Google Scholar
Lizza, Ryan. 2009. “The Gatekeeper: Rahm Emanuel on the Job.” New Yorker 85 (March 2). (http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/03/02/090302fa_fact_lizza), accessed September 3, 2010.Google Scholar
Mansbridge, Jane, Bohman, with James, Chambers, Simone, Estlund, David, Føllesdal, Andreas, Fung, Archon, Lafont, Cristina, Manin, Bernard, and Martí, José Luis. 2010. “The Place of Self-Interest and the Role of Power in Deliberative Democracy.” Journal of Political Philosophy 18(1): 64100.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Margalit, Avishai. 2009. On Compromise and Rotten Compromises. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
May, Simon Căbulea. 2005. “Principled Compromise and the Abortion Controversy.” Philosophy & Public Affairs 33(4): 317348.Google Scholar
McCarty, Nolan, Poole, Keith, and Rosenthal, Howard. 2008. Polarized America: The Dance of Ideology and Unequal Riches. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Mill, John Stuart. 1977. “On Liberty. In Collected Works of John Stuart Mill.” XVIII: Essays on Politics and Society, ed. Robson, J. M.. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.Google Scholar
Mouffe, Chantelle. 2009. The Democratic Paradox. London: Verso.Google Scholar
Muirhead, Russell. 2006. “A Defense of Party Spirit.” Perspectives on Politics 4(4): 713727.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Muirhead, Russell. 2009. “Respectable Partisanship.” In The Arts of Rule, eds. Krause, S. and McGrail, M. A.. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.Google Scholar
Murray, Shailagh. 2010. “Republicans urge Democrats to Start All Over on Health Care.” Washington Post (January 31). (http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2010/01/republicans-urge-democrats-to.html), accessed September 3, 2010.Google Scholar
Nyhan, Brendan. 2010. “Why the ‘Death Panel’ Myth Wouldn't Die: Misinformation in the Health Care Reform Debate.” The Forum 8(1). (http://www.bepress.com/forum/vol8/iss1/art5), accessed May 5, 2010.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Organizing for America. 2008. “Obama Speeches.” (http://origin.barackobama.com/speeches/), accessed September 3, 2010.Google Scholar
Ornstein, Norman J., and Mann, Thomas E., eds. 2000. The Permanent Campaign and Its Future. Washington, DC: American Enterprise Institute.Google Scholar
Plasser, Fritz, and Plasser, Gunder. 2002. Global Political Campaigning. Westport, CT: Praeger.Google Scholar
Richardson, Henry. 2002. Democratic Autonomy: Public Reasoning about the Ends of Policy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Robertson, Lori, Henig, Jessica, Jackson, Brooks, and Bank, Justin. 2007. “Clinton vs. Obama: Who's Right on Health Care, Social Security?” (http://www.factcheck.org/clinton_vs_obama.html), accessed September 3, 2010.Google Scholar
Rosenblum, Nancy. 2008. On the Side of Angels: An Appreciation of Parties and Partisanship. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Seelye, Katherine Q. 2009. “Ads Question Opponents' Motives.” New York Times (August 18). (http://prescriptions.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/18/ads-questioning-opponents-motives/), accessed September 3, 2010.Google Scholar
Smith, Ben. 2009. “Health reform foes plan Obama's ‘Waterloo.’” Politico (July 17). (http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0709/Health_reform_foes_plan_Obamas_Waterloo.html), accessed September 3, 2010.Google Scholar
Staff of The Washington Post. 2010. Landmark: The Inside Story of America's New Health-Care Law and What it Means for Us All. New York: PublicAffairs Books.Google Scholar
Strahan, Randall. 1989. “Members' Goals and Coalition-Building Strategies in the US House: The Case of Tax Reform.” Journal of Politics 51(2): 373384.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thompson, Dennis F. 2007. “Mill in Parliament: When Should a Philosopher Compromise?” In J.S. Mill's Political Thought, eds. Urbinati, N. and Zakaras, A.. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Thompson, Leigh, Wang, Jiunwen, and Gunia, Brian C.. 2010. “Negotiation.” Annual Review of Psychology 61: 491515.Google Scholar
Tilly, Charles, and Tarrow, Sidney. 2006. Contentious Politics. Boulder, CO: Paradigm Publishers.Google Scholar
Witte, John F. 1991. “The Tax Reform Act of 1986: A New Era in Tax Politics?American Politics Research 19(4): 438–57.Google Scholar