Updated August 14, 2025

People across political divides unite around shared aspirations for accountability, compassion, dignity, and opportunity in government—even as they hold distinct understandings of how to bring fairness and equal protection to life.

“The Values We Share: Views on Government, Fairness, and Equal Protection in the United States,” commissioned by PolicyLink and conducted by Worthy Strategy Group, examined how people define fairness and equal protection; the values they believe should drive governing; and what government must do to actively reflect those values in our democracy, economy, and daily lives. Through in-depth interviews and metaphor elicitation, the research engaged a demographically and geographically diverse sample of participants, representing a wide ideological spectrum.

This summary highlights participants’ responses about the values that should drive governing and what government must do to actively reflect those values in our democracy, economy, and daily lives. For key findings from this research about how people across ideology and geography within the United States understand fairness and equal protection, please click here.

HOW WE CONDUCTED THIS RESEARCH

Worthy Strategy Group spoke to participants using a metaphor elicitation technique. As part of the metaphor elicitation technique, participants first spent several hours gathering images that resonated with them in response to prompts. Then, trained interviewers met with participants for a 75-minute in-depth discussion about their thoughts and beliefs, in what is often described as feeling like a therapy session. Researchers spent extensive time analyzing the deep beliefs and metaphors that emerged.

The 48-person sample was demographically and ideologically diverse. Participants were drawn from attitudinal segments developed by PolicyLink through four years of research, based on factor analysis of four key belief dimensions:

• The degree to which people experience racism in their own lives
• Whether people think we have a collective responsibility to end racism
• The degree to which people think racism and inequality are structural problems
• Whether people have a more individualistic or collective worldview

A Shared Diagnosis

Across multiple lines of difference, the study participants  share a troubling consensus: life in the United States feels like a “rigged game." They want to believe in a nation where rules are fair and protection is for all. But most, regardless of ideology, perceive a system tilted in favor of the powerful and against everyone else. Democracy does not feel representative, and the economy is not built for everyday people.

While participants differ on the specific sources of unfairness—some pointing to racial injustice, others to economic inequality—the most significant divide is not left versus right but rather them versus us. They perceive government as distant, self-serving, and careless—either crushing people through overreach or abandoning them through neglect.

People described experiencing government as:

• An authoritarian dictator that is domineering, controlling, punitive, self-serving
• A corrupt elite and disconnected overseer that is distant, out of touch with everyday people, selectively nurturing the powerful
• A chaotic and careless leader whose short-sightedness and unpredictability cause crushing harm

And yet, people still express hope—and even some powerful areas of consensus—for what government should be, and the values that should guide it toward fairness and equal protection. 

Shared Values for Fair Government

Despite deep political divisions, participants signalled alignment on core values that government should embody in order to lead us toward a future where fairness and equal protection are fully realized:

Accountability and Consistency: A fair government is dependable, principled, and accountable. It sets clear rules, applies them consistently, and ensures no one is above the law—including those in power. Fairness requires a system where everyone knows the rules, plays by them, and trusts that their rights will be protected no matter who is in charge.

Compassion and Empathy: Government must act not from a place of power or politics but from genuine care for people’s well-being, especially those who are struggling. Fairness starts with valuing people fully and responding with humanity.

Dignity and Respect for All: Everyone deserves to be treated as worthy—regardless of background, race, class, or identity. People want a government that sees, hears, and reflects them—not just in policy, but in power and representation.

Opportunity: Government should provide tools, support, and scaffolding until people can thrive on their own. It means ensuring everyone has what they need to succeed—including those historically disadvantaged.

These values transcend partisan lines, with accountability resonating most broadly, appealing to progressives' desire for justice and transparency, as well as conservatives' emphasis on law and order without favoritism.

When government operates at its very best, people envision it serving as:

• A protector and warrior of justice;
• A unifier that brings people together across differences;
• A nurturing caretaker that listens and knows how to care for its people; and 
• A stabilizing force that ensures peace and calm. 

Participants evoked metaphors like a skilled referee or lifeguard, expressing a desire for government to function as a steady, trusted presence that keeps the game fair, protects the vulnerable, and lets everyone play to their full potential.

This understanding of government's role is part of a comprehensive vision of a country where fundamental fairness and equal protection are fully realized, in which:

• Everyone has equal opportunity with a fair starting line
• Each person has a real voice in politics and decision-making
• Society is unified but diverse, working toward common goals
• There is balance, peace, and shared responsibility
• Freedom, opportunity, and happiness are within reach for all

Shared Views on Government Responsibility 

These values and aspirations for government and the future were not merely abstract ideals—they translated directly into concrete visions for policies and practices across democracy, economy, and communities.

Across ideological differences, participants indicated agreement on seven fundamental government responsibilities: equal application of rules, leadership that represents the people, transparent decision-making, community responsiveness, removing systemic barriers, providing dignified public services, and choosing good policy over partisanship.

There was widespread agreement that, at minimum, government should serve as the foundation that supports fairness—keeping the field fair, the rules honest, and the path open. It should set the stage for people to thrive on their own terms, not pick winners and losers. 

A Shared Responsibility

Participants also recognized that government alone cannot create the fairness they envision. People across differences embrace specific responsibilities that collectively strengthen the fabric of fair society. The universal responsibilities that were embraced by participants across all geographies and ideological segments included:

• Holding government and systems accountable through voting, organizing, and advocating to ensure institutions reflect shared values and deliver on their responsibilities
• Practicing empathy and community care by helping others in need, checking in on neighbors, and being part of solutions, especially when government support falls short through church groups, food pantries, and mutual aid networks
• Upholding shared rules and social norms by playing by the same rules, supporting equal consequences, and valuing consistency and structure in daily life

People across all groups believe that fairness is sustained by mutual care and a sense of shared fate. Even those who value individual responsibility still deeply believe that at the end of the day we are supposed to look out for each other. 

The relationship between government and citizens in creating fairness can be understood through a simple metaphor that emerged in the research: while government sets the foundation, society builds the house through both individual responsibility and collective care. Neither can succeed alone.

This understanding reframes fairness as an active, shared ethic that honors both individual effort and collective obligation. It moves beyond more limited expectation of what government should provide, to the active role that individuals must play in what society can become. Americans want a country where fairness is not left to chance or relegated to the margins of political debate—it is architected into baseline expectations for our government, and how we govern ourselves and care for each other.