Navigating a complex ideological landscape

Moderator: 
jnorsigian
Discussant: 
dgoldston
jgruber
akimbrell
snewman
tstevens
Day: 
Wednesday 27 July 2011
Start Time: 
10:30am
End Time: 
11:50am
Session Year: 
2011
Short Description: 

 

 

 

Full Description: 

LOCATION: WASHINGTON IRVING ROOM

This working session addressed challenges posed by the fact that Tarrytown Meeting participants often work within a complex and nuanced ideological, social and political landscape whose contours are not widely understood. How can we encourage progressive constituencies and opinion leaders to consider a principled stance that questions rather than uncritically supports certain applications of human biotechnologies? In what ways and under what circumstances might it make sense to work, formally or informally, with social or economic conservatives?

At this working session presenters shared and reflected upon their own experiences of successfully, unsuccessfully, or ambiguously confronting these challenges. They considered the near-term political environment in order to identify both opportunities and pitfalls posed by the complex ideological environment and explore longer-range prospects for building majority support for our perspective within and across ideological communities.