商品簡介
Written in a provocative, jargon-free style ideal for stimulating classroom discussion,America's Failing Experiment directly challenges would-be reformers who believe the solution to our current political paralysis is more democracy. Kirby Goidel finds that the fault for our contemporary political dysfunction resides not with our elected officials but with our democratic citizenries. He argues that our elected officials are overly responsive to public opinion which is often poorly informed, incoherent, and uncertain. The result is a more polarized political system, rising inequality, and institutional gridlock. Though not new, these concerns take on deeper political significance in a digital age where information flows more quickly and opportunities for feedback are virtually unlimited. If the diagnosis is too much democracy, the counterintuitive solution runs against our cultural norms—less citizen involvement, greater discretion for political elites, and greater collective responsibility.
作者簡介
Kirby Goidel is professor and fellow in the Public Policy Research Institute and the Department of Communication at Texas A&M University. Previously, he was the Scripps Howard Professor of Mass Communication and a professor in the Department of Political Science at Louisiana State University where he also served as director of the Public Policy Research Lab. He is co-editor ofSurvey Practice, a journal sponsored by the American Association of Public Opinion Research (AAPOR).
