Overton window

I have sourced ‘An Introduction to the Overton Window’ by Nathan J. Russell.

Named after the late Joseph P. Overton - the Overton Window, as it is called now, came about as he attempted to define the role of the Mackinac Centre (and other think tanks in general). Though his theory has roots in complex public economics it was dubbed the ‘Overton Window of Political Possibilities’.

Imagine a metre stick - this is the political landscape. On this metre stick sits an empty picture frame through which you can see a portion of the stick. Though you know there is more to the political landscape than you can see through the window, you are bound by its frame.

Now imagine someone has drawn a line on the centre of the stick. This is centre ground politics. Anything to the left is left wing policy and to the right - right wing policy. It is alway integral for a successful politician to “constrain themselves to taking actions within the ‘window’ of ideas approved of by the electorate”. Anything beyond the frame is seen as extremist whilst anything inside is possible. For example one of Margaret Thatches best (or worst depending on your political stance) legacies is that she managed to move the Overton Window so more extreme right wing policies were considered acceptable. The left couldn’t counter this until the Tony Blair came along and moved the left leaning Labour Party more into the centre of the metre stick. So (this is where things get a bit messy) the left was now the old centre of the window, whilst the more subdued right is now the new centre. It could be said the the current Conservative government is again (with the aid of the media) trying to move the frame further to the right than ever before. In this sense the far right wing policies are being considered more and more acceptable whilst even the subdued left wing policies are being seen as extremist views. So now when someone like Jeremy Corbyn comes along with ‘policies that were once acceptable’ they ‘become politically infeasible’. His once quite subdued left wing policies are seen portrayed (with the help of the media) as extremist views that can never come into play.

How the window will shift in the future is anyones guess, but if Jeremy Corbyn wins to Labour leadership race, theirs a strong chance we could possibly see it pulling back to the left.