What Good Faith Means
On This Piece
Good faith isn't about being nice, maintaining civility, or moderating your tone. It's about whether democratic systems can function at all. Those systems are built on behavioral assumptions: that people mean what they say, that losers accept outcomes, that opponents are rivals rather than enemies. Those assumptions aren't written into law — they're built into the design. When they disappear, democracy doesn't just slow down. It hollows out.
Good faith isn’t about being nice.
It’s not about civility.
And it’s definitely not about tone.
Good faith is about whether democracy can function at all.
Democratic systems don’t just rely on laws and procedures.
They rely on assumptions about behavior.
That when people argue, they mean what they say.
That when they lose, they accept the outcome.
That opponents are rivals — not enemies.
That power rotates instead of entrenching itself.
Those assumptions aren’t written into law.
They’re built into the design.
And when good faith disappears, democracy doesn’t just slow down.
It starts to hollow out.