Define Terms, Defang Demagogues

Public controversies often turn on 'floating signifiers' (labels that mean different things to different people). Requiring interlocutors to state precise, disaggregated definitions (and the concrete policies or mechanisms they imply) reveals where genuine disagreement lies and reduces performative tribalism. — If platforms, journalists, and researchers adopt this habit, public debate shifts from identity signaling to claim-by-claim scrutiny, improving policy clarity and accountability.