Paolo, you’ve said that in a polarized world, we exclude independents until they pick a side. Could you explain?

In a polarized world, neutrality or independence has somehow become a liability. When people are split into opposing camps, anyone who stands in the middle, who refuses to take a clear “side,” is viewed with suspicion, even resentment. We see it all around us today—whether it’s in politics, social issues, or even business ideologies. There’s this relentless pressure to choose a team, to declare where you stand, and if you refuse, you’re marginalized, pushed to the sidelines.

Here’s the thing: polarization creates a vacuum. It demands that people either jump into one extreme or the other, and when that happens, the gap is filled with resentment. Instead of listening, learning, or building bridges, we start to view the other side—and the people in between—as threats. Those who try to hold onto their independence, who want to explore the gray areas, are seen as outsiders. They become, in a sense, the “enemy” of both sides because they don’t fit neatly into the black-and-white narrative that polarization thrives on.

And this leads to a dangerous place. When we start to pressure people to choose sides, we lose the diversity of thought that’s essential for real progress. The independent thinkers, the moderates, the ones who are trying to approach issues with nuance and open-mindedness—they get forced out or silenced until they conform. It’s a kind of social exile, where you’re only accepted back in when you declare allegiance to a side. And that’s not just damaging to individuals—it’s damaging to society as a whole. It means we’re only seeing one perspective at a time, shutting ourselves off from understanding complex issues in their entirety.

The reality is, independent thought is critical. It’s the space where innovation happens, where solutions that don’t fit into one box or the other can emerge. But in this polarized environment, we’re making it almost impossible for people to stand in that independent space. We’re saying, “If you’re not with us, you’re against us,” and we’re enforcing that with social exclusion. It’s a form of intellectual isolationism, where those who refuse to conform are made to feel like outcasts until they “decide” which side they belong to.

Ultimately, polarization drives us further apart, filling the gaps with resentment and hostility, instead of understanding and collaboration. And the tragedy is, it’s the independent voices—the ones who could help bridge these divides—who get silenced, sidelined, and excluded until they fit into one camp or the other. We end up in an echo chamber, where everyone is either with us or against us, and where the richness of diversity and complexity is lost.

In a world like this, the true rebels are the ones who stay independent, who resist the demand to conform to one side. They’re the ones who keep questioning, who keep seeing the world in shades of gray, even when it’s easier to just pick a side. It’s a hard path, but it’s also a necessary one if we’re ever going to move beyond division and find ways to connect, understand, and grow as a society.