The deep divide between the people and mainstream politics and media

This demise is causing a cascade of consequences. Our visions of the future are woven into the stories we create to make sense and meaning of our lives. This 'storying' is important in linking individuals to a broader social or collective narrative - as the Bowling with Trump study makes clear - and affects both our own personal wellbeing (by enhancing our sense of belonging, identity and agency, for example), and societal functioning (by engaging us in the shared task of working for a better future).

We need to place these fundamental frameworks of how we understand the world at the centre of political debate. Such a debate would be very different from today's emphasis on 'issue' and 'identity' politics, whose elements are kept firmly within the conventional model of progress. The interconnected risks facing humanity cannot be solved by focusing only on the discrete, specific issues that characterise and define today's politics, however legitimate the concerns are in themselves.

In science, paradigms change when they are confronted by a growing body of anomalous and contradictory evidence that they cannot explain or resolve. So it is with politics, which also confronts a growing array of policy failures, unsolvable problems, and bitter divisions - but is struggling to understand or resolve them. We need a new paradigm that better acknowledges and addresses the emerging realities of planetary conditions and limits, and our better understanding of human needs and wellbeing.

There is no reason why political debate cannot be reframed in this way - except for the entrenched cultures of politics and journalism, which are both too 'short-sighted' and too 'narrow minded'. We need to change the 'idea' of progress, and to do that we must change the 'idea' of politics and journalism.