Most people have never heard of the Overton scale, but everyone is living inside it.
The Overton scale describes the range of ideas that are considered acceptable to talk about in public at any given time. Some ideas are unthinkable. Some are radical. Some are debatable. Some are sensible. Some are policy. The scale moves slowly, almost invisibly, shaped by repetition, exposure, and normalization.
The danger is not when bad ideas exist. The danger is when they move from unthinkable to debatable without anyone noticing.
A few years ago, the idea of publicly praising Hitler would have been a career ending event. It would have placed someone instantly outside the boundaries of civil society. Today, there are people saying things like maybe he was misunderstood or maybe he did some good things. These statements are not made in good faith. They are not historical analysis. They are tests. They are attempts to shift the boundary.
This is how the scale moves.
The Overton scale does not jump. It slides. First the idea appears as a joke. Then as a provocation. Then as a question. Then as a debate. Then as a position. By the time it is openly defended, the damage is already done. The scale has shifted, and what once would have been rejected outright now feels like just another opinion.
In business, we would call this normalization of risk. When small violations go unchallenged, they become part of the operating environment. Safety failures work this way. Ethical failures work this way. Cultural failures work this way. What was once unacceptable becomes tolerated, then expected, then invisible.
Social media accelerates this process. Algorithms do not care if something is true or moral. They care if it keeps people engaged. Outrage, shock, and provocation are rewarded. This creates a distorted environment where extreme ideas are amplified, repeated, and slowly stripped of their original weight. The more you see something, the less shocking it becomes. Familiarity dulls judgment.
This is why people who push back matter, even when it feels pointless.
When someone calmly says no, that is false, or no, that is not acceptable, they are not arguing with the person who posted it. They are anchoring the scale for everyone else watching. They are preventing drift. They are protecting the boundary.
In organizations, we talk about tone at the top. In societies, we should talk about signal at the edges. What we allow to circulate without challenge eventually becomes the water we all swim in.
The Overton scale is not moved by grand speeches. It is moved by silence.
If you are wondering how things that once felt impossible are now being debated openly, this is how. Not through a sudden collapse, but through a slow, quiet erosion of standards. One post at a time. One comment at a time. One shrug at a time.
The responsibility of thoughtful people is not to shout. It is to hold the line. To say this is not normal. This is not harmless. This is not just another perspective.
Because once the unthinkable becomes debatable, the scale has already moved. And history shows us that it rarely moves back on its own.
I am a Canadian insurance and investment professional and the President and Chief Executive Officer of Chazz Financial Inc. and Chazz Capital Assets. I write about leadership, markets, insurance, investing, and decision making, with a focus on how structure and incentives shape outcomes.
I hold a business degree and I am a Fellow of the Canadian Securities Institute (FCSI®), a Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU®), a Chartered Financial Planner®, a Certified Health Specialist and a Mutual Fund Investment Representative.
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