Chapter 9: COMPROMISE IS KEY - 70% IS BETTER THAN NOTHING

The founding of the United States was not preordained or ensured. The framers argued and debated many topics,  perhaps none so vehemently as how states would be represented in the legislative branch. The large states - Massachusetts, New York, Virginia, etc., believed that because they contributed more to the nation’s finances and defense, they should receive greater representation. The smaller states disagreed and believed that every state should have equal representation. The split threatened to derail the convention and leave the newborn nation stillborn. 

Over the fourth of July holiday of 1787, the delegates debated and eventually arrived at what would be called The Great Compromise. The compromise created a bicameral legislature in which the lower House of Representatives would be seated based on population while the upper house, the Senate, would have equal representation for each state. On July 16, 1787, the compromise was voted on and passed by one vote. As the 1787 celebrants noted, without that one vote there very likely would have been no Constitution. 

The parties were motivated to find a solution that helped them achieve their overall goal of creating a strong, vibrant government for the fledgling country. It showed that when it came to the success of the country, no one side needed to win 100%. Each party could come away with something that benefited it.

Today, we find ourselves in a hyper-polarized world where compromise on key issues seems to rarely occur. In fact, compromise is treated like a four letter word, a disease. Perhaps it’s because the media finds it advantageous to present those who don’t compromise as retaining their principles or heroic. But what is heroic about never getting anything done? What’s heroic about pointlessly pontificating and digging into a position that never advances?

Ascendance believes in using knowledge to make decisions and making decisions that help to generate more knowledge. But no one can ever be 100% certain about a decision. The world is not black and white and our opinions shouldn’t be either.

The Wisdom of the Crowds

One reason compromise has broken down in the country is that the left and right each believe the other have no valid points and lack coherent or sensical arguments. By believing this, it’s easy to dismiss the other opinions and label them as wrong, illogical, and non-starters. But evidence shows that when large groups of people believe in something, there’s usually some validity to it. Research has shown that collective opinions are often better at predicting future events and outcomes than single individuals. This is another reason why democracy is a better system than an autocratic system. Entire betting markets and blockchains are emerging to harness the wisdom of the crowds to help investors, policymakers, and others make the best informed decisions.

But what happens if the crowd’s opinions are  split 50-50%, or pretty close to that? Or what happens if the opinions flip  back and forth every few years, as our political system seems to do, swapping out Republican and Democratic administrations and control of the legislature? Clearly, there is no clear consensus on some of the biggest issues of the day - gun control, abortion, climate change, the economy, etc. But the fact that large numbers of people support and believe in their views of the issue gives them credence. Politicians dismiss the other side for two reasons:

1. They aren’t able to step out of their own parochial views and put themselves in the shoes of others. This tends to happen more at the extremes of each position.

2. Or, more likely, they are able to see the other’s viewpoint but in order to take power or retain power, they simply don’t care to be aware and sensitive to the views of others.

Neither of these are particularly compelling, knowledge-based approaches to analyzing problems, reviewing solutions, and choosing the best one. In the corporate world, such a myopic viewpoint would be the death of many companies. 

In fact, both parties have become so entrenched in their viewpoints and propaganda that they often oppose the other side reflexively. We’ve all seen politicians oppose an idea when they are out of power only to support it when they enter office. Such hypocrisy and desire for personal and party advancement over country is acid to our process.

Most Americans want to see politicians leave the dogma behind and come together, compromise, and find solutions that benefit everyone. Ascendance believes that regardless of who comes up with an idea, if it moves forward knowledge creation, it is worth considering. And Ascendants will align themselves with anyone, regardless of party, who helps achieve this goal.