Americans are experiencing historic national pessimism. Polls find Americans feel that the country needs major changes, but doubt these changes are possible.

For many Americans, just following the news can feel exhausting. Each day, Americans see health protections rolled back, climate commitments abandoned, and more technologies that nobody asked for and nobody can opt out of. The decisions that shape our lives—health coverage, the air children will breathe, the tools they will grow up with—seem to be made far above our heads. 

In many ways, the country is moving in the opposite direction the public wants. Americans largely favor expanding clean energy, yet federal incentives for it are being dismantled and the banks are walking away from their climate pledges. Similarly, national healthcare programs are more popular than ever, yet policy is moving to strip coverage from millions. And an astonishing 97% of Americans say the immensely wealthy AI industry should face some form of oversight, and yet Washington has moved to stop states from regulating it.

What is there to do when big companies, and even the government, stand in the way of progress on national emergencies? The scale of these problems alone is intimidating: one may reasonably worry, “Can I make any difference? Even if I take action, will others join in?” It is well documented that this sense of futility is demotivating. And, research also shows that when people believe powerful actors will not do their part, they conclude their own effort is both pointless and unfair, and they disengage from the issue. Faced with all of this, is civil society simply powerless?

Our research suggests a more hopeful outlook. Even amid systemic opposition, the public’s voice matters—a lot. Specifically, we find social change can be mobilized when two groups are united behind a solution: scientists and the public. 

Through a mix of survey and field studies involving more than........

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