Markets Are Politically Constructed and Politically Maintained
Think Politically Becoming a Responsible Citizen.
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Transcript of Think Politically Becoming a Responsible Citizen.
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Think PoliticallyBecoming a Responsible Citizen
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The worth of the state , in the long run, is the worth of the individuals composing it.” - John Stuart Mill
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HOW CAN YOU GOVERN YOURSELF IF YOU ARE OUT OF TOUCH WITH REALITY???
• Was Iraq aligned with al Qaeda? Did Iraq help plan the 9/11 terrorist attacks? Did Iraq equip the 9/11 terrorists? Did Iraqis fly the passenger jets that ran in to the World
Trade Center? Was Saddam Hussein a tyrant who brutalized his people?
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Americans live in the real world but think in an imagined one.
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“… the general public’s political ignorance is appalling by any standard”Ackerman/Fishkin
• “More than half of all Americans agreed with the following statement:
• “Politics and government are so complicated that a person like me can’t really understand what’s going on.”
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Uninformed citizens are not without opinions..which they express often and loudly.
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What is Political Thinking?
• Political Thinking involves the careful gathering and sifting of information in the process of forming a knowledgeable view about a political issues. Political thinking enables citizens to act responsibly, whether in casting a vote, forming an opinion or contributing to a political cause.
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Uninformed citizens are like the ancient mariners who , thinking the world was flat, stayed close to shore, believing they would sail off the edge if they ventured farther out to sea.
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Democracy is a double edged sword
• You are free to make choices that may be destructive to democracy
• You are free to think the world is flat
• You are free to be racist
• You are free to be indifferent
• You are free to burn the flag
• You are free to be offensive
• You are free to burn a Koran
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Barriers to Political Thinking
• Citizen’s are unwilling to make the effort!
• “Americans are Dangerously unready when the time comes to make a choice.” James Barber
•IDIOT!!!!Chris O’Donnell
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Barriers to Political Thinking: Media
• Political information is more available and less trustworthy than ever before.
• “ Half of Americans now get most of their news from cable tv, talk shows, or Internet blogs. Most of these outlets – whether on the left or right – have dropped all pretense of accuracy.”
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Barrier – Media
Mainstream news outlets are in the business of concocting versions of reality that will lure an audience and promote a cause.“ The talk show culture is a blur of rumor, fact, propaganda and infotainment” Ellen Hume
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Iraq = Al Qaeda? Who told you that?
• During Iraq invasion, individuals who get information from cable television were more misinformed than citizens who rarely paid attention to news.
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Admits his shortcomings
“News used to hold itself to a higher plane and slowly it hasdissolved into , well, me.It’s style over substance
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Politicians Spin messages; create faulty perceptions
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Like-minded thinking is dangerous - extremism
• People are keen to receive message that confirm what they already believe
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The test of an opinion is not whether it sounds good by itself but whether it makes sense when held up to opposing viewsl
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How Political Science Helps Political Thinking
• This Text will not try to tell you WHAT to think
• Instead, it will help you learn HOW to think politically by using a set of analytical tools that willsharpen your understanding of American politicsl
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The Tools
• 1. Reliable information about US political systems
• 2. Systematic generalizations about major tendencies in American politics
• 3.Terms and Concepts that precisely describe key aspects of politics
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Example: Obama Health Care
• US is only industrialized Western democracy that does not provide health care for all its citizens
• Obama was unable to persuade Congress to change this
• News coverage blamed intense opposition by insurance companies as main problem
• Republican threat of a filibuster allowed a Republican minority to impede a Democratic majority
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Obama Healthcare meets Individualism
• America – with its great wilderness society, plentiful land, and no aristocracy to stifle ambitions of ordinary people believes in INDIVIDUAL OPPORTUNITY AND RESPONSIBILITY.
• Europe does not share this outlook.
• US ranks below almost all European countries in government spending on social welfare.
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2009 Pew Survey – Only 24% of Americans agreed that the government has a responsibility to take care of people who can’t take care of themselves
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Individualism leads to intense opposition
• Right after Obamacare bill was enacted, 65% of Americans believed that government’s role in healthcare system is too much.
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America values education (?)
• Education is the path to success
• We started universal public education
• 40% of Americans enroll in college
• 25% of Americans have college degrees
• This is double most other countries
• Are you surprised?
• (6% of world population has college degree)
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Bottom Line: Our cultural values strongly dictate American politics.