The Broader Market

by Michael Eizenga and Jordan Eizenga

Why a more polite political community would be a more productive one.

The strange metaphor “Washington is broken” became more firmly embedded in common wisdom during the recent debt-ceiling debate. But the debate revealed that Washington isn’t simply broken; it’s also rude. As some renew calls for reform to address government dysfunction, perhaps the best place to start would be to ask public figures to be more polite.

It is not just that it is discrediting and unseemly when politicians are discourteous; civility also has an instrumental value. A civil political community can be a more productive one.