How Do Humans Create and Sustain Viable Communities? A Review Essay.

The article focuses on the research presented in *Voicing Politics: How Language Shapes Public Opinion* by Efrén Pérez and Margit Tavits, which empirically demonstrates that language plays a foundational role in nation-building by influencing public opinion. Using bilingual Estonian-Russian speakers, the authors show that the structural features of each language—such as gender marking, temporal orientation, and ethnic emphasis—modestly but reliably "nudge" political attitudes. The article situates these findings within a broader discussion of human sociability, highlighting how linguistic diversity and extended developmental plasticity contribute to the adaptability and survival of human societies through varied social and political forms. It also contrasts rigid and fluid political systems, suggesting that language both reflects and shapes these orientations, thereby influencing collective and individual responses to social change.