Yesterday was President’s Day, a holiday traditionally reserved for looking in the rearview mirror (and getting good sales). We celebrate the founders, the preservationists, and the historical giants who shaped our nation’s first 250 years.
But as we wake up today, the focus inevitably shifts back to the present. For many of us, that present feels like a never ending cycle of immediate crises and political gridlock.
In this episode of How We Future, I sat down with Aditi Juneja, the visionary founder of Democracy 2076. Aditi is building a laboratory for long-term civic imagination.
From the surprising ways Hollywood shapes our civic reality to the tactical advantage of a 50-year plan, Aditi shares why the most practical thing we can do for our democracy today is to start imagining what it looks like when it actually works for everyone.
Here are three insights from our conversation on why the long-term future is the key to unlocking the present:
1. The 50-Year Horizon is a Liberating Force
One of the benefits of exploring longer term futures is that it allows you to stretch further on possibilities and get out of the near term cycle of constraints. But we don’t often get practice in taking that longer lens. In my “Inventing the Future” class at Stanford, for example, we used to ask students to debate 50 year “utopia and dystopia” futures on emerging technology to help them think several generations ahead rather than react to the latest headlines.
When we talk about policy changes for next year, too often we hit a wall of “that’s impossible because of X politician or Y constraint.” But when Aditi asks people to imagine 2076, those walls crumble.
As she points out, 1972 (roughly 50 years ago) feels like recent history to many, yet 2076 feels like sci-fi. By bridging that gap, we realize that anything can happen in 50 years. This is about becoming more imaginative and more agile.
2. Entertainment is our “Civic Education”
One of the most fascinating parts of our conversation was around Aditi’s research with Harmony Labs on how entertainment influences our perspectives on who should be in power and how civics actually works (or doesn’t). For West Wing lovers, this exchange is for you. [LINK]
According to Aditi’s research, the shows we binge are shaping our baseline assumptions about how power works. For the 42% of Americans who actively avoid political news, entertainment media is their civic education.
Shows like Scandal, where election rigging and government corruption are normalized over six seasons, created a mental framework that made false claims about voting machines feel plausible to millions, even when the technology doesn’t work that way.
Maverick characters in shows like Reacher or White Collar romanticize outsiders who break the law to do “good.” For people consuming hours of TV where criminal outsiders improve broken systems, this narrative of the rule-breaking rebel becomes a familiar, even appealing template for political figures who position themselves as anti-establishment.
Even beloved shows have unintended effects. For some, The West Wing represents an ideal of how policy might get created. For others, it has the opposite impact. While those who value community see good people trying to serve, those with outsider orientations watch it and think: “The system works fine. Why do I need to do anything to change it?”
And it’s not just dramas. After the Wicked movie, people online were genuinely debating: Is Glinda a victim or an accomplice? Should you feel bad for her, or is she complicit?
As Aditi points out, “That is not a conversation about a movie. That is a conversation about 2025 politics.”
If we want to change how people engage with democracy, we have to meet them where they are: in the stories they already love.
Whether it’s discussing bystander responsibility through Wicked or power structures in Star Wars, pop culture is the “flight simulator” for our civic values.
Check out Democracy 2076’s compelling new research report with Harmony Labs about what’s really influencing our perspectives on civic engagement and leadership.
3. Long-Term Thinking Can Foster Immediate Agency
Here’s the paradox: thinking 50 years ahead can actually make you more effective right now.
When Aditi asks people to plan for 2076, those who came to her workshop with a “burn it all down” mentality become more precise and strategic. As they mapped out constitutional amendments over 15, 30, and 45-year periods, their confidence in the possibility of change was increased by 30%.
Long-term thinking forces clarity. People realized that 80% of our constitutional framework (free speech, separation of powers) is actually worth keeping, and they could pinpoint exactly what needed to change. As Aditi notes, “When you have precision, then it’s not overwhelming. Then you have a tactic that you’re trying to achieve.”
According to Aditi, over 70% of Americans know there’s a problem with our democracy, but less than half feel like they know what to do about it, and less than a third can imagine a better future. Without that image of the future, we either look backward (trying to recreate a past that worked for fewer people) or we disengage entirely.
And importantly, you can’t just show people the future and walk away. Futures work without next steps potentially exposes people to bigger possibilities while leaving them feeling powerless. The key is combining imagination with concrete action: “We’re going to come back together next month and actually build a strategy to achieve it.”
The shift from “the whole system is rigged” to “here are the three specific things we need to change” transforms paralysis into possibility.
How We Future: Your Turn
You don’t need a degree in political science to start “futuring” your own civic life. This week, I invite you to try a “Story Audit”:
Identify your “Democratic Image”: Think about the last three TV shows or movies you watched. What did they teach you about how power works? Was the government portrayed as a functioning system, a corrupt machine, or a backdrop for a lone hero?
Flip the Frame: The next time you see a political headline that makes you feel stuck or powerless, ask yourself: “If I were looking at this from the year 2076, what would I hope we did right now to change the trajectory?”
By shifting your gaze to the far horizon, you might just find the path forward in the present.
