Making the Rigged System Visible: A New Narrative About Work

Most Americans believe that the system is rigged against them by elites, and nowhere is this more apparent than in the workplace. While the profits of billionaires and large corporations are skyrocketing, working people are struggling to afford even basic necessities like rent and food.

The ‘System is Rigged’ is a powerful but contested mindset that can mean different things to people, depending on how they understand who is rigging the system, how, and against whom.  It’s a mindset that progressive communicators can and must leverage, if we are to prevent it being claimed by the far right to scapegoat immigrants and sow division. 

In our past research on communicating about rigged systems we demonstrated the need to explain how the system is rigged, the power of values that center collective power, and the effectiveness of spotlighting labor unions as one way working people can respond. In new research, we have gone deeper into how we can help people see the connection between jobs and the larger economic system that was built to work for the rich rather than working people. As part of this research we empirically tested many different frames that can bring the system into view in productive ways and galvanize collective action.

Here we share two ways of doing this: First, we can talk about the economy as a pyramid built on the backs of workers, and, second, we can call for the 99% of us to work together to unrig the system.

Strategy 1: Describe the Economy as a Pyramid

A Pyramid is a highly effective and widely accessible visual image of structural inequality. Use this metaphor to explain how the powerful, wealthy few at the top construct the economic system to profit off the backs of working people, who are the real foundation of the economy. And because a pyramid is something designed and built, it is something that can be torn down. We can call for rebuilding our economy in ways that redistribute power and wealth toward working people.

When we tested this metaphor in an online survey experiment we found that it helped to build understanding of the exploitative nature of the system and its impact on workers.

What the pyramid metaphor can look like:

“Right now our economy is shaped like a pyramid with wealthy CEOs and corporations at the top, profiting off working people’s labor that is the real foundation of our economy. When workers unite in unions and fight for worker-owned businesses, we can knock down this pyramid and build a fair economy that works for everyone, not just the wealthy.”

Strategy 2: Call for “the 99%” to come together in response

The Occupy Movement introduced the frame that “We Are the 99%.” This frame builds buy-in for the common cause we have, across differences of race and background, against the ultra-rich (1%) who are still—and increasingly—rigging the system in their favor. Talking about the 99% shows that we have power in numbers, even if corporations and the wealthy are hoarding the power of wealth. It creates a sense of solidarity, without even needing to use the word “solidarity.”

Our new research shows that the “99% versus the 1%” frame was one of the most effective frames we tested at:

• Helping people think of the economy as a designed system (as opposed to a natural phenomenon)
• Boosting people’s sense that together, we can change the system
• Increasing support for a range of progressive policies, like holding big tech companies to account.

What “the 99% versus the 1%” frame can look like:

“Whatever work we do, and whatever our race, gender or country of origin, the vast majority of us want to live well and do right by one another. But the wealthiest 1% don’t want us to recognize what we have in common. They keep wages low so we compete against each other for jobs, fund politicians who pit us against each other by race, and use fear about immigration to divide us. But when the 99% of us come together, we have the power to change the system. We can demand an economy where everyone who contributes gets a fair return—not one where a tiny minority rigs the economy in their favor.”

To read more about how to bring our economic system into view when talking about work and jobs, read our full WorkShift report: Reframing Work, Rebalancing Power.

To explore framing examples, messaging dos and don’ts, and practical tools for putting these (and additional) strategies to work, check out the complementary toolkit: Three Strategies for Reframing Work.