Technique used by defenders of the status quo, to try to take the ‘heat’ out of an issue. Maybe by attacking the entrepreneurs, maybe by trying to contextualise the ‘problem’ as smaller within the bigger picture (a favourite technique of climate skeptics), by pointing to OTHER problems.
Part of the overall strategy of kicking awkward issues into the long grass…
denying existence, other matters more urgent, highlight uncertainties, dismiss opponents as uninformed/irrational, suggest situation natural/acceptable/inevitable
See Stone, D. 1989. Causal Stories and the Formation of Policy Agendas. Political Science Quarterly, Vol. 104, (2), pp.281-300.
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