I recently watched a fascinating interview with Chloé Valdary that covered topics of anti-Semitism and intersectionality in western society (touching on some other things too). I very much value her perspective on these topics, but I was moved by her Theory of Enchantment in particular, which she outlined toward the end of the interview. It is a simple yet very powerful and profound concept that we desperately need. So, I’ve outlined it below. 

Theory of Enchantment

This is a theory of the process by which you create connection within and between previously polarized communities by tapping into human potential.

One can create these kinds of connections by producing/creating content in which other’s see themselves (and their potential) reflected in that content. Such content inspires and leads to greater human connection, and it has 3 main principles:

Principle 1: Remember that we are human beings and not political abstractions. (no dehumanization, stereotypes, or objectification of individuals or groups of individuals).

Principle 2: If you want to criticize, criticize in order to uplift and empower. Never to tear down, never to destroy. (Root criticism in a fundamental belief in the other).

Principle 3: Everything you do, work to root it in love and compassion.

Example: Theory of Enchantment in Practice

“If someone is being aggressive towards you, or mean towards you… you call that out as inappropriate, you say… I don’t know why you’re pre-judging me (which is the definition of prejudice), but what I’m not going to do is I am not going to pre-judge you even though you have pre-judged me. Instead, if you want, let’s go to this coffee shop and let’s talk about this topic (topic x, topic y, whatever the disagreement is).”

“What’s happening in that moment is they are probably seeing you as a political abstraction, not as a full human being, and you have to rehumanize that space. The purpose, by the way, is not to get that person to agree with every single viewpoint you have. The purpose of that is to bring back compassion and empathy, even in the midst of profound disagreement. Which is something we are not doing very well here in America.”

Chloé Valdary

Check out the interview here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yi0QFhPzmCo

Check out the Theory of Enchantment website here: https://theoryofenchantment.com/