Invitational Conclaves for Leaders and Luminaries
From 2014 through 2016 the Institute for Cultural Evolution convened a series of small invitational conclaves on hyperpolarization which brought together influential thought leaders on both the left and the right. The participants in these conclaves included prominent luminaries such as social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, political scientists Thomas Mann and Norman Ornstein, PBS’s Firing Line host Margaret Hoover, Reason magazine’s Nick Gillespie, controversial scholar Charles Murray, The Breakthrough Institute’s Ted Nordhaus, MoveOn.org founder Joan Blades, Log Cabin Republicans founder Rich Tafel, and Daily Beast editor-in-chief John Avlon, to name a few.
Austin Conclaves 2015 and 2016
Our 2015 and 2016 conclaves on “the future of the right” were each held over three days in Austin, Texas. The group discussion was informative, but no one anticipated the coming election of Donald Trump, which upended our collective analysis and predictions.
Esalen Conclaves 2014 and 2015
Our 2014 and 2015 conclaves on “depolarizing the American mind” were each held over three days at the Esalen Center for Theory & Research in Big Sur, California. The event’s three days of political and cultural analysis surprised the insiders, educated the outsiders, engaged both Republicans and Democrats, and left everyone encouraged.
