The Aspen Institute

A weekly series reimagining a better society post COVID-19. Over the last three months we have looked broadly at the social contract, narrowly at the changes we’d like to make within ourselves, and consistently at the changes we’d like to see in society. Democratic institutions are often thought to express the will of the people. But to what extent should – or must – the will of the majority be heeded by those in power? Similarly, how do we think about the tradeoffs among competing values systems of different origins? That is, how does a democratic society balance the competing standards of culture and tradition against science and evidence?