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Each year on the holiday that bears his name, Martin Luther King Jr. is remembered for his immense contributions to the struggle for racial equality. What is less often remembered but equally important is that King saw the fight for racial equality as deeply intertwined with economic justice. To address inequalityand out of growing concern for how automation might displace workersKing became an early advocate for universal basic income. Under universal basic income, the government provides direct cash payments to all citizens to help them afford lifes expenses. In recent years, more than a dozen U.S. cities have run universal basic income programs, often smaller or pilot programs that have offered guaranteed basic incomes to select groups of needy residents. As political scientists, we have followed these experiments closely. One of us recently co-authored a study which found that universal basic income is generally popular. In two out of three surveys analyzed, majorities of white Americans supported a universal basic income proposal. Support is particularly high among those with low incomes. Kings intuition was that white people with lower incomes would support this type of policy because they could also benefit from it. In 1967, King argued, It seems to me that the Civil Rights Movement must now begin to organize for the guaranteed annual income . . . which I believe will go a long, long way toward dealing with the Negros economic problem and the economic problem with many other poor people confronting our nation. But there is one notable group that does not support universal basic income: those with higher levels of racial resentment. Racial resentment is a scale that social scientists have used to describe and measure anti-Black prejudice since the 1980s. Notably, in our research, whites with higher levels of racial resentment and higher incomes are especially inclined to oppose universal basic income. As King well knew, this segment of Americans can create powerful opposition. Economic self-interest can trump resentment At the same time, the results of the study also suggest that coalition building is possible, even among the racially resentful. Economic status matters. Racially resentful whites with lower incomes tend to be supportive of universal basic income. In short, self-interest seems to trump racial resentment. This is consistent with Kings idea of how an economic coalition could be built and pave the way toward racial progress. Income is not the only thing that shapes attitudes, however. Some of the strongest supporters of universal basic income are those who have higher incomes but low levels of racial resentment. This suggests an opportunity to build coalitions across economic lines, something King believed was necessary. The rich must not ignore the poor, he argued in his Nobel Peace Prize lecture, because both rich and poor are tied in a single garment of destiny. Our data shows that this is possible. This approach to coalition building is also suggested by our earlier research. Using American National Election Studies surveys from 2004-2016, we found that for white Americans, racial resentment predicted lower support for social welfare policies. But we also found that economic position mattered, too. Economic need can unite white Americans in support of more generous welfare policies, including among some who are racially prejudiced. At a minimum, this suggests that racial resentment does not necessarily prevent white Americans from supporting policies that would also benefit Black Americans. Building lasting coalitions During his career as an activist in the 1950s and 1960s, King struggled with building long-term, multiracial coalitions. He understood that many forms of racial prejudice could undermine his work. He therefore sought strategies that could forge alliances across lines of difference. He helped build coalitions of poor and working-class Americans, including those who are white. He was not so naive as to think that shared economic progress would eliminate racial prejudice, but he saw it as a place to start. Currently, the nation faces an affordability crisis, and artificial intelligence poses new threats to jobs. These factors have increased calls for universal basic income. Racial prejudice continues to fuel opposition to universal basic income, as well as other forms of social welfare. But our research suggests that this is not insurmountable. As King knew, progress toward economic equality is not inevitable. But, as his legacy reminds us, progress does remain possible through organizing around shared interests. Tarah Williams is an assistant professor of political science at Allegheny College and Andrew Bloeser is an associate professor of political science; Director, Center for Political Participation at Allegheny College. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Being a field dependent on big developer clients and even bigger sums of money, rarely do architects get to pick the projects they work on. Would they if they could? Absolutely. Fast Company asked architects and designers from some of the top firms working around the world to think about the kinds of projects they wish they could do, clients, budgets, and possibly reality notwithstanding. From the abstract to one very specific (and notorious) train station, seven architects shared building projects they’d love to tackle in 2026. Here’s the question we put to a panel of designers and leaders in architecture: What’s your dream project in 2026? An urban district reimagined The dream project for me isn’t a skyline object or spectacle, it’s a long-life systema project whose structure is reused, materials are upgraded and recycled rather than replaced, and performance improves over time. Where sustainable strategies arent hidden in basements, or rooftops, but become part of the architectural experience. A dream project would be an urban district reimagined, edited with a scalpel (rather than a sledgehammer) with its declining building stock given a new life through subtle upgrades, modest interventions, and attention to craft and building performance. Trent Tesch, Principal, KPF Solutions to current crises My dream project would be to design beyond the scale of a single buildingat the district scaleto define a new way of living. We have the ability to overcome the segmentation we have created in the built environment and move toward convergent places where people can not only live, work, and play in the same space, but also innovate, learn, and care for ourselves and each other. Embedded in this approach are solutions to current crises like housing, access to food and care, and more: to think about community-building and what people need around them to ensure a safe, vibrant, and supported life. David Polzin, executive director of design, CannonDesign An example of where design needs to go My dream project should break ground right near the end of the year the New York Climate Exchange on Governors Island. It will be arguably the most sustainable project ever undertaken in the city and an example of where design needs to go in the coming decade. Colin Koop, partner, SOM A tangible vision of a ‘heaven on earth’ A dream project with a design ethos grounded in simplicity, sustainability, and the clear expression of engineering functions, this project would function as a living laboratory at a district-to-regional, maybe even country scale, exemplifying human-centered, climate-responsive urbanism. It would demonstrate how architecture can create healthier built environments, advance decarbonization, promote human well-being, foster thriving ecosystems, and deliver scalable models for resilient cities worldwidea tangible vision of a heaven on earth in a built environment. Luke Leung, sustainable engineering studio leader, SOM Breaking down silos Our firm’s portfolio has always been shaped by the idea of architecture as social and civic infrastructure, rather than isolated objects. Our dream project in 2026 is one that will allow us to further break down overly prescriptive disciplinary and programmatic silos, to the benefit of those who use the spaces we create. This could take the form of a new kind of mixed-use district, a daycare-driven residential building, woodland cabins, or reinvented urban infrastructure, but it would be guided, as all our work is, by the idea of long-term stewardship and deep collaboration with community and our peers in architecture, engineering, and beyond. We are most interested in projects where design builds capacity and trust, and where success is measured not only by what gets built, but by what it enables over time. Claire Weisz, founding principal, WXY architecture + urban design Destinations for learning and gathering There is growing need for cultural and community catalysts that bring people together, especially in communities that are lacking destinations for learning and gathering. Design can support a sense of belonging and grounding to the physicality of architecture that is important in this day of instant gratification. Nick Leahy, co-CEO and executive director, Perkins Eastman A nightmare-turned-dream? Pennsylvania Station! Vishaan Chakrabarti, founder, PAU
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Most organizations still hire for culture fiteven those that loudly champion diversity and inclusion. The phrase sounds benign, even wise: who wouldnt want colleagues who fit in? But behind this feel-good notion lies one of the biggest obstacles to innovation and progress in modern workplaces. Culture fit has become a euphemism for cultural cloning: selecting people who already look, think, and behave like the incumbents. Its a polite way of saying, we want people like us, because theres nothing more comforting than workingand hanging outwith people who are just like you! The irony, of course, is that such homogeneity kills the very things organizations claim to want: creativity, adaptability, and innovation. As Adam Grant notes, originality thrives in contexts that tolerate dissent and deviance, not conformity. Yet the more organizations glorify fit, the more they drift toward cultish sameness. The difference between a culture and a cult, after all, is just one letterand often one lawsuit. This tendency isnt new. Social psychology has long shown that were drawn to those who resemble us; similarity reduces friction and uncertainty. But comfort is the enemy of progress. Uniformity might make life easier for recruiters and managers, but it makes systems fragile. Nature offers a cautionary tale: the Irish potato famine. For decades, Ireland depended almost entirely on a single potato variety, the Lumper. When a blight struck in 1845, the lack of genetic diversity turned one crop failure into a national catastrophe. Organizations that over-rely on a single type of employee risk the same fatea cultural monocrop vulnerable to shocks, blind spots, and collective stupidity. {"blockType":"mv-promo-block","data":{"imageDesktopUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/10\/tcp-photo-syndey-16X9.jpg","imageMobileUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/10\/tcp-photo-syndey-1x1-2.jpg","eyebrow":"","headline":"Get more insights from Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic","dek":"Dr. Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic is a professor of organizational psychology at UCL and Columbia University, and the co-founder of DeeperSignals. He has authored 15 books and over 250 scientific articles on the psychology of talent, leadership, AI, and entrepreneurship. ","subhed":"","description":"","ctaText":"Learn More","ctaUrl":"https:\/\/drtomas.com\/intro\/","theme":{"bg":"#2b2d30","text":"#ffffff","eyebrow":"#9aa2aa","subhed":"#ffffff","buttonBg":"#3b3f46","buttonHoverBg":"#3b3f46","buttonText":"#ffffff"},"imageDesktopId":91424798,"imageMobileId":91424800,"shareable":false,"slug":""}} The cost of fitting in too well Empirical research supports this. Studies show that while culture fit predicts short-term satisfaction and commitment, its often negatively related to long-term innovation and change readiness. A large meta-analysis by Kristof-Brown, Zimmerman, and Johnson found that personorganization fit strongly predicts employees attitudes but not their creativity or performance in changing environments. Similarly, Michele Gelfands cross-national study on cultural tightness found that organizations and societies that enforce conformity underperform in dynamic contexts, while looser culturesthose that tolerate rule-bending and deviance, are more innovative and adaptive. There are also considerable costs for businesses that hire for culture-fit: when everybody thinks alike, nobody thinks at all! In line, cultural homogeneity reduces innovation, creativity, and curiosity, as well as increasing conformity and resisting change. By contrast, organizations that value constructive misfithiring people who stretch or challenge the dominant moldshow higher rates of creativity and problem-solving. Googles famous Project Aristotle study on team effectiveness found that the best-performing groups werent the most harmonious or homogenous, but those with psychological safetyteams where people felt free to disagree without social punishment. The best cultures, in other words, dont eliminate tension; they use it productively. Unfortunately, many companies still confuse alignment with excellence. Fit becomes the criterion for hiring and promotion, even as executives pay lip service to diversity. As illustrated in Dont Be Yourself: Why Authenticity is Overrated and What to Do Instead, in practice, bring your whole self to work often means bring the parts of yourself that look and sound like the rest of us. The result is a well-intentioned echo chamber. Everybody belongsand nobody thinks. The case for the moderate misfit So, what happens if you dont quite fit in? If youre the person who feels slightly out of sync with the corporate rhythmtoo analytical for the sales culture, too candid for the political one, too global for the parochial one? At first, its uncomfortable. Youll have to work to fit in, even as the company insists you shouldnt have to. Inclusion sounds effortless, but it usually requires emotional laborthe cognitive gymnastics of decoding unspoken norms, managing impressions, and adapting without losing yourself. Yet being a moderate misfitsomeone who respects the system but doesnt worship itcomes with real advantages. You bring a different perspective. You see what insiders cant because you arent fully hypnotized by the culture. Research on task conflict shows that moderate levels of disagreement improve decision quality and innovation, as long as theyre respectful. The worst decisions in history (from Enron to the Challenger disaster) share one trait: too much agreement. Youre more likely to become a change agent. Because you dont fully identify with the status quo, youre less invested in preserving it. Decades of research on minority influence show that consistent dissenters (even when initially unpopular) eventually shift group norms. Youll stay an independent thinker. Irving Janiss classic work on groupthink revealed that cohesive groups under pressure tend to suppress dissent, leading to catastrophic decisions. Misfits disrupt that comfort. Theyre less likely to self-censor or outsource their thinking to the hive mind. Even when they play along, they keep a mental escape hatch opena capacity for self-reflection that prevents total ideological capture. And you might even grow. Working alongside people who arent like you forces you to reconsider your assumptions. A widely cited meta-analysis shows that exposure to difference reduces prejudice and increases cognitive complexity. Growth happens when youre challenged; when you collaborate, debate, and adapt outside your comfort zone. Leadership, progress, and the art of misfitting Ultimately, leadership is not about comfort but progress. As Gianpiero Petriglieri reminds us, leadership is always an argument with tradition, a dialogue between what is and what could be. Fitting in completely, therefore, is not a strength but a symptom of stagnation. When everyone agrees, nobody leads; they merely administer. The playwright George Bernard Shaw put it even more bluntly: The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man. Moderate misfits are those unreasonable people, balanced enough to survive within the system but different enough to question it. Theyre the ones who stretch cultures, challenge orthodoxies, and prevent organizations from fossilizing. Yes, it can be exhausting to swim against the current. It takes empathy, restraint, and strategic impression management. But the payoff is immense: you remain curious, independent, and relevant in a world that worships conformity. To be sure, many dont survive so pragmatically it is worth wondering whether you want to be part of an organization or system that regards and treats you as an outlier or part of the outgroupit requires a great deal of willpower and resilience . . . the struggle is real!. So, heres to the misfits, the ones who dont quite belong, who ask inconvenient questions, and who resist the seductive comfort of sameness. They may never win the culture fit award, but theyre the reason culture evolves at all . . . if we are brave to hire them in the first place! {"blockType":"mv-promo-block","data":{"imageDesktopUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/10\/tcp-photo-syndey-16X9.jpg","imageMobileUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/10\/tcp-photo-syndey-1x1-2.jpg","eyebrow":"","headline":"Get more insights from Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic","dek":"Dr. Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic is a professor of organizational psychology at UCL and Columbia University, and the co-founder of DeeperSignals. He has authored 15 books and over 250 scientific articles on the psychology of talent, leadership, AI, and entrepreneurship. 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