Dumbing Down Democracy

Author : Lindsay Tanner
Publisher : Scribe Publications
ISBN 13 : 1921844892
Total Pages : 257 pages
Book Rating : 4.98/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Sideshow written by Lindsay Tanner and published by Scribe Publications. This book was released on 2012-07-25 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ‘After spending much of my life dedicated to the serious craft of politics, I have to admit that I am distressed by what it is becoming. Under siege from commercial pressures and technological innovation, the media are retreating into an entertainment frame that has little tolerance for complex social and economic issues. In turn, politicians and parties are adapting their behaviour to suit the new rules of the game — to such an extent that the contest of ideas is being supplanted by the contest for laughs.’ ‘The two key rules that now govern the practice of Australian politics are: (1) Look like you’re doing something; and (2) Don’t offend anyone who matters. These imperatives are a direct consequence of the interaction between media coverage and political activity — the aggregated outcome of countless individuals acting rationally in pursuit of their own interests. The sideshow syndrome, the overall result of these actions, is a direct threat to the nation’s well-being.’ When Lindsay Tanner resigned in 2010 as the ALP’s federal minister for finance and member for Melbourne, having had an 18-year career as an MP, he notably managed to retire with his reputation for integrity intact. In Sideshow, he lays bare the relentless decline of political reporting and political behaviour that occurred during his career. Part memoir, part analysis, and part critique, Sideshow is a unique book that tackles the rot which has set in at the heart of Australian public life.

Author : Ivo Mosley
Publisher : Imprint Academic
ISBN 13 : 9780907845652
Total Pages : 340 pages
Book Rating : 4.57/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Dumbing Down written by Ivo Mosley and published by Imprint Academic. This book was released on 2000 with total page 340 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This text is a compilation of essays on changes in culture and the media and the dangers of their manipulation.

Author : Charles J. Sykes
Publisher : Macmillan
ISBN 13 : 9780312148232
Total Pages : 356 pages
Book Rating : 4.32/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Dumbing Down Our Kids written by Charles J. Sykes and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 1995 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sykes concludes with a checklist for parents, students, and teachers who want to evaluate their schools, and a series of recommendations to restore quality learning to America.

Author : David Moscrop
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781773100418
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.16/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Too Dumb for Democracy? written by David Moscrop and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bad decisions down to a science. D'oh-mocracy at its finest. Brexit. Trump. Ford Nation. In this timely book, David Moscrop asks why we make irrational political decisions and whether our stone-age brains can process democracy in the information age. In an era overshadowed by income inequality, environmental catastrophes, terrorism at home and abroad, and the decline of democracy, Moscrop argues that the political decision-making process has never been more important. In fact, our survival may depend on it. Drawing on both political science and psychology, Moscrop examines how our brains, our environment, the media, and institutions influence decision-making. Making good decisions is not impossible, Moscrop argues, but the psychological and political odds are sometimes stacked against us. In this readable and provocative investigation of our often-flawed decisions, Moscrop explains what's going wrong in today's political landscape and how individuals, societies, and institutions can work together to set things right.

Author : Bob O'Connor
Publisher : Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN 13 : 9781717574725
Total Pages : 398 pages
Book Rating : 4.26/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Dumbing Down Democracy written by Bob O'Connor and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2018-04-23 with total page 398 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It seems that in America and the UK, Juvenal's observation that the political power of ancient Roman emperors was based on giving the people, "bread and circuses." This seems to be prevalent today with food stamps and football keeping the people content. It seems that our two countries are stumbling down the rocky path to degradation. Are we willing to determine what type of government we want--and work for it? If so, this book may be of value to you. This book was originally meant to show the methods that have been used in modern elections to bypass our intellects and appeal to our unconscious minds. These were particularly evident in the elections of Bush and Trump and in the Brexit referendum in the United Kingdom. As the writing progressed, it was deemed necessary to present some basic logic and psychology to show how the election manipulators had delved into our unconscious minds and had ventured from logical and verifiable arguments in order to accomplish their goals. Once these issues were presented it was decided to venture with the reader into what kind of government we might like to have--and why. One of the questions asked is whether we want low taxes or happiness. The happiest countries are shown to have very high taxes, while the United States is ranked 18th on the international happiness scale. Another question is whether liberty or equality should be the major measure of justice for the society. Political philosophers realize that these two ideals are often mutually incompatible. The latter part of the book looks at education, and what may be improved. If we are to have an educated democratic republic, we must have educated citizens, legislators, and executives. The ending chapter deals with what we might consider as constitutional amendments to bring the Constitution up to date and to reverse the 5 to 4 decisions of some of the Supreme Courts that have redirected the founding document into directives that are directly counter the reasons for the Constitution - - to provide for the general welfare.

Author : Bob O'Connor
Publisher : Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN 13 : 9781723201219
Total Pages : 392 pages
Book Rating : 4.19/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Dumbing Down Democracy written by Bob O'Connor and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2018-07-16 with total page 392 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Written by a retired professor, whose unique combination of academic studies allows him to dissect political arguments from both its philosophical and the psychological aspects. His academic qualifications include a doctorate is in the areas of ethics and political theory. He is also a licensed mental health therapist in California. He has taught both logic and psychology. Additionally, he has traveled much of the world in the last 50 years and has lived and taught in several countries---living the last twenty years in Norway. This book looks at the way we have been manipulated in the elections of George Bush, Brexit, and Trump. The issues have been downplayed in their campaigns, while our unconscious needs of fear and anger allowed us to be manipulated by some populists. Hope is always held out by politicians-- but that hope should be possible to realize. How do they do it? Why do they do it? Why do we succumb to it? What can we do about it? He then asks us what kind of a government do we really want. The final section deals with the problems in our education system. The following questions illustrate some of the questions and issues addressed. ¬If we are going to let our intellects overpower our unconscious drives, we must understand how. ¬What do we really want from our society? Happiness or low taxes? No abortion but higher taxes to educate the unwanted children through high school? ¬Do we understand that each of us owes about $65,000 on the national debt-- and it increases every year? ¬Can we understand how to see through the irrationality of the arguments of politicians? ¬How can education be made more vibrant and meaningful for our future citizens? ¬Is having food in our mouths and the remote channel changer in our hands-- our only concern? Shall we be content with bread and circuses? If you are concerned about your country, read this book.

Author : Allan Bloom
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1439126267
Total Pages : 403 pages
Book Rating : 4.64/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Closing of the American Mind written by Allan Bloom and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2008-06-30 with total page 403 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The brilliant, controversial, bestselling critique of American culture that “hits with the approximate force and effect of electroshock therapy” (The New York Times)—now featuring a new afterword by Andrew Ferguson in a twenty-fifth anniversary edition. In 1987, eminent political philosopher Allan Bloom published The Closing of the American Mind, an appraisal of contemporary America that “hits with the approximate force and effect of electroshock therapy” (The New York Times) and has not only been vindicated, but has also become more urgent today. In clear, spirited prose, Bloom argues that the social and political crises of contemporary America are part of a larger intellectual crisis: the result of a dangerous narrowing of curiosity and exploration by the university elites. Now, in this twenty-fifth anniversary edition, acclaimed author and journalist Andrew Ferguson contributes a new essay that describes why Bloom’s argument caused such a furor at publication and why our culture so deeply resists its truths today.

Author : John Dewey
Publisher : Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 456 pages
Book Rating : 4.78/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Democracy and Education written by John Dewey and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 1916 with total page 456 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: . Renewal of Life by Transmission. The most notable distinction between living and inanimate things is that the former maintain themselves by renewal. A stone when struck resists. If its resistance is greater than the force of the blow struck, it remains outwardly unchanged. Otherwise, it is shattered into smaller bits. Never does the stone attempt to react in such a way that it may maintain itself against the blow, much less so as to render the blow a contributing factor to its own continued action. While the living thing may easily be crushed by superior force, it none the less tries to turn the energies which act upon it into means of its own further existence. If it cannot do so, it does not just split into smaller pieces (at least in the higher forms of life), but loses its identity as a living thing. As long as it endures, it struggles to use surrounding energies in its own behalf. It uses light, air, moisture, and the material of soil. To say that it uses them is to say that it turns them into means of its own conservation. As long as it is growing, the energy it expends in thus turning the environment to account is more than compensated for by the return it gets: it grows. Understanding the word "control" in this sense, it may be said that a living being is one that subjugates and controls for its own continued activity the energies that would otherwise use it up. Life is a self-renewing process through action upon the environment.

Author : Jason Brennan
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 1400888395
Total Pages : 312 pages
Book Rating : 4.99/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Against Democracy written by Jason Brennan and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2017-09-26 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A bracingly provocative challenge to one of our most cherished ideas and institutions Most people believe democracy is a uniquely just form of government. They believe people have the right to an equal share of political power. And they believe that political participation is good for us—it empowers us, helps us get what we want, and tends to make us smarter, more virtuous, and more caring for one another. These are some of our most cherished ideas about democracy. But Jason Brennan says they are all wrong. In this trenchant book, Brennan argues that democracy should be judged by its results—and the results are not good enough. Just as defendants have a right to a fair trial, citizens have a right to competent government. But democracy is the rule of the ignorant and the irrational, and it all too often falls short. Furthermore, no one has a fundamental right to any share of political power, and exercising political power does most of us little good. On the contrary, a wide range of social science research shows that political participation and democratic deliberation actually tend to make people worse—more irrational, biased, and mean. Given this grim picture, Brennan argues that a new system of government—epistocracy, the rule of the knowledgeable—may be better than democracy, and that it's time to experiment and find out. A challenging critique of democracy and the first sustained defense of the rule of the knowledgeable, Against Democracy is essential reading for scholars and students of politics across the disciplines. Featuring a new preface that situates the book within the current political climate and discusses other alternatives beyond epistocracy, Against Democracy is a challenging critique of democracy and the first sustained defense of the rule of the knowledgeable.

Author : John Taylor Gatto
Publisher : New Society Publishers
ISBN 13 : 1550923013
Total Pages : 70 pages
Book Rating : 4.18/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Dumbing Us Down written by John Taylor Gatto and published by New Society Publishers. This book was released on 2002-02-01 with total page 70 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With over 70,000 copies of the first edition in print, this radical treatise on public education has been a New Society Publishers’ bestseller for 10 years! Thirty years in New York City’s public schools led John Gatto to the sad conclusion that compulsory schooling does little but teach young people to follow orders like cogs in an industrial machine. This second edition describes the wide-spread impact of the book and Gatto’s "guerrilla teaching." John Gatto has been a teacher for 30 years and is a recipient of the New York State Teacher of the Year award. His other titles include A Different Kind of Teacher (Berkeley Hills Books, 2001) and The Underground History of American Education (Oxford Village Press, 2000).