How “Common Sense” Can Divide Us

In January of 2025, following a tragic plane crash, President Trump said that DEI programs played a role; explaining why he thought that, he said, “Because I have common sense.” In February of 2025, at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), President Trump announced, “We are the party of common sense.” 

Trump and other Republicans use “common sense” language a lot but it’s not unique to them. People from across the political spectrum use the term. For example, some Democrats call for “common sense” solutions to gun violence, amongst other contentious issues. Political pundit Matthew Yglesias even wrote a “Common Sense Democrat Manifesto.” 

People with opposite views can say their views are the “common sense” ones. So what does this term really mean?

The Illusion of Common Sense

Calling a view “common sense” implies that people with some basic, normal level of intelligence would see things that way. Merriam-Webster defines it as “sound and prudent judgment based on a simple perception of the situation or facts.” The Wikipedia entry for the phrase says it is “often considered to represent the basic level of sound practical judgement or knowledge of basic facts that any adult human being ought to possess.” 

But in many cases where people call their views “common sense,” it’s clear there are many people who think differently. When we say ‘common sense,’ we’re actually assuming (wrongfully) that everyone sees the world the same way we do. 

Imagine arguing with someone about an issue and they say their stance is “common sense.” Intentionally or not, they’re implying that you or your stance is ignorant and unreasonable — that you can’t see something that, to them, is clearly true. Not surprisingly, this can be insulting to people. 

As a Reddit user put it in a thread asking what people think of this phrase: “It feels like mild gaslighting. You’re taking a divisive issue, and claiming that one side is ‘common sense.’ Well, if it were common sense, it wouldn’t be so polarizing…”

How Arrogance Can Add to Our Divides

In his book The Divide, Taylor Dotson writes about arrogance and how it can drive wedges between us. He sees “common sense” language as often representing that arrogance: 

…by recasting political conflict as a battle between those who can reason and those who cannot, it encourages fanatical policy and undermines the possibility for compromise and coalition building. That is, when one’s political world is divided into enlightened friends and brainwashed or stupid enemies, there is little sense in permitting opponents an influence on policy and every reason to enact extreme legislative action against them.  

When we see our fellow citizens as either having “common sense” or being amazingly ignorant, why bother treating the ignorant ones with respect? Why not do everything in your power to suppress their stances and stop them? 

A Historical Perspective

The use of “common sense” in political debates is nothing new. In 1776, Thomas Paine’s famous pamphlet Common Sense argued that separating from England was the obviously correct thing to do. Dotson writes: 

In his pamphlet Common Sense (1776), Thomas Paine claimed to be speaking only simple, irrefutable, and self-evident truths — in contrast to the bombastic and overly complex claims of philosophers and aristocrats of the time — when he argued that common sense dictated that the American colonies should separate from England. 

Of course, his opponents viewed themselves as being the ones truly in possession of common sense when they argued to the opposite conclusion. 

Historian Sophia Rosenfeld is the author of Common Sense: A Political History. She writes that common sense has “always been a cornerstone of American politics” and that, today, it “remains a powerful political ideal, utilized alike by George W. Bush’s aw-shucks articulations and Barack Obama’s down-to-earth reasonableness.”

Why Do So Many Use It?

We can see why well-meaning and smart people can be drawn to using this phrase. For one thing, we may really believe our views are self-evident to almost everyone. When we’re highly polarized, we’ll have a hard time understanding the narratives found on the “other side.” This means we’ll often overestimate how obvious and common our own views are. This helps explain why even well meaning people can use the phrase: they may think they’re just being persuasive.

And of course some people purposefully use “common sense” as an insult — as a way to express contempt for their opponents’ views. 

Moving Beyond “Common Sense”

The next time we hear political leaders, activists, or pundits invoke “common sense,” we should pause and consider what they’re actually saying. Is it truly an objective truth, or is it just their perspective being presented as clearly obvious? Do they really believe their view is clearly obvious to most people or are they perhaps using it as an insult? 

Making our political culture more healthy starts with us. We must examine our own behavior patterns and language. We can think about our own instinct to see our views as “common sense” — and we can think about how other people will feel about us using that term. Instead of implying that others’ views are silly and irrational, we can work to understand why people see the world differently. By doing so, we create more room for empathy and dialogue, and lower toxicity and contempt.

Join the Builders Movement! buildersmovement.org/invite