Gradual: The Case for Incremental Change in a Radical Age

by Greg Berman, Aubrey Fox

A call to tone down our political rhetoric and embrace a common-sense approach to change.

Many experts believe that we are at a fulcrum moment in history, a time that demands radical shifts in thinking and policymaking. Calls for bold change are everywhere these days, particularly on social media, but is this actually the best way to make the world a better place?

In Gradual , Greg Berman and Aubrey Fox argue that, contrary to the aspirations of activists on both the right and the left, incremental reform is the best path forward. They begin by emphasizing that the very structure of American government explicitly and implicitly favors incrementalism. Particularly in a time of intense polarization, any effort to advance radical change will inevitably engender significant backlash. As Berman and Fox make clear, polling shows little public support for bold change. The public is, however, willing to endorse a broad range of incremental reforms that, if implemented, would reduce suffering and improve fairness. To illustrate how incremental changes can add up to significant change over time, Berman and Fox provide portraits of "heroic incrementalists" who have produced meaningful reforms in a variety of areas, from the expansion of Social Security to more recent efforts to reduce crime and incarceration.

Gradual is a bracing call for a "radical realism" that prioritizes honesty, humility, nuance, and respect in an effort to transcend political polarization and reduce the conflict produced by social media.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, History, Sociology, Audiobook, Philosophy

240 pages, Hardcover

Published March 28, 2023

Reviews

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the authors clearly come from a more progressive worldview and mine is more conservative, I could not agree more with their call for incrementalism. At the heart of the book is both a philosophical and historical understanding that big, systematic, revolutionary change is both difficult and rare, and frequently comes with severe unintended consequences. Small scale gradual change, in contrast, can often achieve significant results over time and cause far fewer negative and unintended consequences.

The book offers a brief outline of why big change rarely works, looks at specific historical examples both positive and negative, and then offers a heartfelt outline of and call for incrementalism. Their calling for honesty, humility, nuance and respect in an era of hyper-partisanship and extreme rhetoric is admittedly counter-cultural but true and good nonetheless.

I have my quibbles with their coverage of some areas of politics and history but the overarching goals and principles in the book or just so true and important that they pale in comparison.

This is a book policy makers, elected officials and engaged citizens should all read and take to heart.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wise and hopeful antidote to today's angry political discourse. Incremental, gradual change gets a bad rap as too little, too late. But this book shows in plain, punchy language why that verdict is exactly backward. Extremism and zero-sum games may entertain partisan combatants, but they do not drive real social change -- the kind of change we must always strive for, realistically; not utopias, but an ever-improving society.

[Harshan Ramadass · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not what I expected. I thought general psychology bull, and was saying under my breath ,here we go again, another ‘how to’ about something mundane like paper or salt( gosh those airport aisle titles!)

But it turned out to be a sweeping US history of government policies, politics and practices. And how the intersection of the three has shaped modern America. From Alexander Hamilton’s federalist papers that were skeptical of overreach to FDR’s social security program ( the predecessor of AARP was strong even back then, in a young nation no less!) to Obamacare and modern immigration issues.

The point is, every single program in the past has been an outcome of painstaking push and pull between interests groups. Despite the partisanship rhetoric heard over the airwaves- not a modern phenomenon, it was apparently common all through American history- citizens have preferred gradual improvements over radical transformation.

Surprisingly good book! Few takeaways for me as I grapple with my own issues with entrenched bureaucracy in small town BC

[Marks54 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book singing the praises of incrementalism as a model for understanding how real decision making and policy implementation can and should happen, as opposed to various positions representing comprehensive and often radical change in complex human undertakings. This book is positioned as a response to the intensive radicalization and polarization in American politics at all levels but most noticeably at the national level. These clear polar developments and the extreme vitriol that goes with it are often seen as impediments to anything getting done in politics and a conclusive explanation for why “the system is broken”. Greg Berman sets out a nearly opposite view that while there are exceptions that are highly polarized and radical, more change - and the most significant change occurs through cumulative, gradual, and incremental approaches.

This is not a new debate in policy studies. From the days of Simon and “bounded rationality” as well as the initial studies of how bureaucracies work, the have been huge debates about how anything happens in society and how any significant work ever gets done. Despite the rhetoric of rationality, it was increasingly clear that big policy initiatives and military adventures often go horribly wrong and that the few occasions when positives things do happen are characterized by messy and even chaotic dynamics that, while orderly, did not fit nearly into rational paradigms. The classic studies of this were by authors like James Bryan Quinn (Logical Incrementalism) and Charles Lindblom (The Science of Muddling Through).

[Justin Harnish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly important work that puts the lie to government not being able to accomplish large projects or that the executive state is failing us--instead it just works deliberately and over a longer time course than even the most patient of us imagine. This truly is a book for our times, where both the left and right have come together at their fringes to believe that revolution is necessary to make change, and there are fewer voices and data points in the center that can argue that gradual, centric change is still being made.

For a long-time social liberal like myself, this book even makes the claim that well-meaning legislation often fails even its modest goals and instead could be replaced with more gradual adjustments around the edges. The Great Society is seen as one such program and is contrasted against the New Deal social security which was a much more gradual package than other popular conceptions at the time.

A great read for those that need a thoughtful and optimistic view of work done by legislators not speaking on TV every night and by the executive state that molds rules to what works--slow and steady centric progress that everyone agrees with in part and do not put in place a providers blocker.

[Charles Reed · Rating 3 out of 5]

54%

Gradual, absolutely. A gradual approach to change with bipartisanism, advocating for a more unified political approach. Beautiful. Obviously we don't like extremists on the other side. I know you don't. I don't either. That's why I like you. The fascinating part about this book is that while it advocates for such a beautiful thing, the joining of people, advocating for good, positive, gradual changes over time, so people get allocated to them... ...fails to leave a real, lasting impact because it goes over some extremely bland content and fails to leave any real, lasting impression other than, yeah, this stuff's correct. So, sure, it's correct, but is it good? Is it a good book? Does it leave a lasting impact for most audience members? No, it will not. Key takeaways. One, a gradual, unified approach towards making positive changes instead of an extremist approach where you wake up one day and say, hey, buddy, you're not making the bricks today. Today you're laying the bricks. You're making the houses. People don't like that. Teach them in. Slowly transition people in. That's what gradual's about, baby.

[Masha Bunina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Мы читали эту книжку на паре, и она, с одной стороны, очень не понравилась мне своей американскостью и неуниверсальностью, а с другой — я все еще на удивление много оттуда помню.

Берман и Фокс утверждают, что большие реформы, которые преображают всю систему, вообще-то исключение из правил. Их можно готовить-готовить, а потом поменяются люди в правительстве, и ничего не получится, потому что это слишком ресурсо- и времязатратно, и слишком много факторов должно совпасть. Особенно сложно провернуть такое в поляризованном обществе.

В качестве альтернативы он предлагает совершать много маленьких изменений. Их легче провести, и они могут на первый взгляд казаться незначительными, но это не так, потому что они приводят к моментальным социальным изменениям + подготавливают почву для следующих изменений. Важно не путать шум и популизм с действительно значимыми изменениями, пусть и не всегда заметными.

В общем, книжка как будто не понравилась, а с ходом мысли, получается, согласна.

[gillian · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is a masterclass on taking no stance and getting nothing done, equating right-wing conspiracy theory nonsense with genuine left-wing policies that the authors just don't agree with. This book is practically screaming "Stand down! Don't advocate for change! Be complicit! Let them ruin the country! Do nothing to stop them for fear of backlash!" And I refuse to endorse it with every shred of dignity in my body.

[Caleb · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had been on reading list for a while. Reading it in the era of DOGE makes it feel like it was published 100 years ago versus 18 months. The authors argue that incremental change has been the more historically effect way to change large institutions like the government. They marshal great evidence and the writing is good. We're now living through the largest counterfactual example of frenetic, breakneck change. This same book in five years will have much more to discuss.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cogent argument, and one that I'm likely supportive of due to my confirmation bias regarded a measured approach to most things. That said, it is still an interesting take and helps to assuage the fear that one person or party has full white knuckle control of the country's rudder. Have a new appreciation for the policy wonks and peons grinding away the days trying to do some good in DC.

[Nate Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book highlighting the successful history of incrementalism and gradualism in government. Very current, with many contemporary examples. Makes very good bipartisan arguments for incremental change rather than large radical changes. Very well written, with a very objective viewpoint.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read for advocates and others.

[Andrew Prosser · Rating 3 out of 5]

pretty limited analysis of power

[Rayfes Mondal · Rating 5 out of 5]

A voice of reason in today's polarizing times with data to back it up

[Tunder Sicurezzing · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the content and the expressed concepts are very valuable, the book is too long (and a bit boring) and going too deep in USA historical issues. This may let the reader in doubt on whether the concept is applicable elsewhere.