What helped the voiceless? Historical case studies

Abstract

The abolition of slavery, the expansion of voting rights, and the mitigation of climate change are examples of major policy shifts that have greatly benefited excluded groups, in particular those groups whose circumstances limited their capacities for self-advocacy. A qualitative, rational-choice model is presented to explain the conditions under which transitions to political inclusion occur and persist. The model predicts that the most important factors include the capacity of the excluded group to resist exploitation, the potential for elites to gain by forming strategic alliances with the excluded group, inclusive values, and inter-societal pressure. The model suggests that, while inclusive values have mattered for inclusive progress, several other motives have each tended to be similarly influential, or more. This casts doubt on earlier theories of moral circle expansion, insofar as these claim that history’s inclusive progress can be explained mostly or entirely by changes in social values. Inclusive values have been influential, but they were far from being the sole drivers of historical inclusive progress, especially when major economic interests opposed inclusion. – AI-generated abstract