The Public and Its Problems

The Public and Its Problems PDF Author: John Dewey
Publisher: Penn State Press
ISBN: 0271055693
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 206

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Book Description
"An annotated edition of John Dewey's work of democratic theory, first published in 1927. Includes a substantive introduction and bibliographical essay"--Provided by publisher.

The Public and Its Problems

The Public and Its Problems PDF Author: John Dewey
Publisher: Penn State Press
ISBN: 0271055693
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 206

Get Book Here

Book Description
"An annotated edition of John Dewey's work of democratic theory, first published in 1927. Includes a substantive introduction and bibliographical essay"--Provided by publisher.

The Public and Its Problems

The Public and Its Problems PDF Author: John Dewey
Publisher: Standard Ebooks
ISBN:
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 180

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Book Description
Written in 1927, The Public and Its Problems is John Dewey’s defense of the democratic society in the post World War I era. Written largely as a response to Walter Lippmann’s popular Public Opinion and The Phantom Public, Dewey wished to set out his view of the numerous challenges facing the political aspect of democracy, as well as potential remedies. Regarding the problems, Dewey actually agrees with Lippmann. “The Public,” as defined by Dewey, has become confused to its purpose and is easily manipulated by political or corporate maneuvers. This presents a serious problem with respect to majority rule, as the majority opinion is loosely formed and can be molded to suit ends benefiting a small minority. Furthermore, by 1927 the world had become so connected that the actions of one group of people could have completely unforeseen consequences on another remote group of people. This leads both Dewey and Lippmann to conclude that even if the public had perfect access to information, that information would be simply too vast to be properly understood. Where the authors differ, however, is in the remedy. For Lippmann a technocratic elite is best placed to solve problems that are too complex to be understood by the voting public. But Dewey contends that even in an ideal world, where such elites are not motivated purely by personal gain, they would still be inherently conservative and resistant to any large-scale changes. The alternative, according to Dewey, is to simplify the economic system to make it easier for individuals to directly predict and understand the consequences of their own actions. Ensuring absolute economic efficiency need not be a societal priority, and can run counter to the democratic spirit whereby communities can participate in and take charge of their own organization. This points towards the need of a movement away from centralization and back towards some form of localization, whereby smaller, visibly connected, groups organize themselves into participative communities. Expanding on his ideas in Democracy and Education, Dewey stresses that education is the only viable way to make these necessary changes a reality and ensure a truly democratic society. Modern readers will find many of the criticisms of the public very familiar, and may be forgiven for forgetting that the problems Dewey describes are the problems of his own time. Likewise, the debate of centralization versus localization, and even the appropriate form of a democratic state, continue to this day. This book is part of the Standard Ebooks project, which produces free public domain ebooks.

Public Opinion

Public Opinion PDF Author: Walter Lippmann
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Public opinion
Languages : en
Pages : 452

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The Phantom Public

The Phantom Public PDF Author: Walter Lippmann
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Political science
Languages : en
Pages : 214

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The Philosopher-Lobbyist

The Philosopher-Lobbyist PDF Author: Mordecai Lee
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 1438455305
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 316

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Book Description
John Dewey (1859–1952) was a preeminent American philosopher who is remembered today as the founder of what is called child-centered or progressive education. In The Philosopher-Lobbyist, Mordecai Lee tells the largely forgotten story of Dewey's effort to influence public opinion and promote democratic citizenship. Based on Dewey's 1927 book The Public and Its Problems, the People's Lobby was a trailblazing nonprofit agency, an early forerunner of the now common public interest lobbying group. It used multiple forms of mass communication, grassroots organizing, and lobbying to counteract the many special interest groups and lobbies that seemed to be dominating policymaking in Congress and in the White House. During the 1930s, Dewey and the People's Lobby criticized the New Deal as too conservative and championed a social democratic alternative, including a more progressive tax system, government ownership of natural monopolies, and state operation of the railroad system. While its impact on historical developments was small, the story of the People's Lobby is an important reminder of a historical road not traveled and a policy agenda that was not adopted, but could have been.

Solving Public Problems

Solving Public Problems PDF Author: Beth Simone Noveck
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 030023015X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 449

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Book Description
How to take advantage of technology, data, and the collective wisdom in our communities to design powerful solutions to contemporary problems The challenges societies face today, from inequality to climate change to systemic racism, cannot be solved with yesterday's toolkit. Solving Public Problems shows how readers can take advantage of digital technology, data, and the collective wisdom of our communities to design and deliver powerful solutions to contemporary problems. Offering a radical rethinking of the role of the public servant and the skills of the public workforce, this book is about the vast gap between failing public institutions and the huge number of public entrepreneurs doing extraordinary things--and how to close that gap. Drawing on lessons learned from decades of advising global leaders and from original interviews and surveys of thousands of public problem solvers, Beth Simone Noveck provides a practical guide for public servants, community leaders, students, and activists to become more effective, equitable, and inclusive leaders and repair our troubled, twenty-first-century world.

The Political Writings

The Political Writings PDF Author: John Dewey
Publisher: Hackett Publishing
ISBN: 9780872201903
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 276

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Book Description
This welcome anthology presents for the first time in one volume John Dewey's major political writings. Ranging throughout his career, the selections display Dewey's philosophical method, his controversial views on war and education, his essential contributions to democratic theory, and his distinctive brand of progressive political ideology. A substantial introductory essay sets the selections in historical context, explains their continuing relevance to American politics, and explores the revivial of interest in Dewey in recent years.

A Troubled Birth

A Troubled Birth PDF Author: Susan Herbst
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022681307X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 311

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Book Description
Pollsters and pundits armed with the best public opinion polls failed to predict the election of Donald Trump in 2016. Is this because we no longer understand what the American public is? In A Troubled Birth, Susan Herbst argues that we need to return to earlier meanings of "public opinion" to understand our current climate. Herbst contends that the idea that there was a public—whose opinions mattered—emerged during the Great Depression, with the diffusion of radio, the devastating impact of the economic collapse on so many people, the appearance of professional pollsters, and Franklin Roosevelt’s powerful rhetoric. She argues that public opinion about issues can only be seen as a messy mixture of culture, politics, and economics—in short, all the things that influence how people live. Herbst deftly pins down contours of public opinion in new ways and explores what endures and what doesn’t in the extraordinarily troubled, polarized, and hyper-mediated present. Before we can ask the most important questions about public opinion in American democracy today, we must reckon yet again with the politics and culture of the 1930s.

The Revolt of The Public and the Crisis of Authority in the New Millennium

The Revolt of The Public and the Crisis of Authority in the New Millennium PDF Author: Martin Gurri
Publisher: Stripe Press
ISBN: 1953953344
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 465

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Book Description
How insurgencies—enabled by digital devices and a vast information sphere—have mobilized millions of ordinary people around the world. In the words of economist and scholar Arnold Kling, Martin Gurri saw it coming. Technology has categorically reversed the information balance of power between the public and the elites who manage the great hierarchical institutions of the industrial age: government, political parties, the media. The Revolt of the Public tells the story of how insurgencies, enabled by digital devices and a vast information sphere, have mobilized millions of ordinary people around the world. Originally published in 2014, The Revolt of the Public is now available in an updated edition, which includes an extensive analysis of Donald Trump’s improbable rise to the presidency and the electoral triumphs of Brexit. The book concludes with a speculative look forward, pondering whether the current elite class can bring about a reformation of the democratic process and whether new organizing principles, adapted to a digital world, can arise out of the present political turbulence.

Alien and Philosophy

Alien and Philosophy PDF Author: Jeffrey A. Ewing
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1119280850
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 243

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Book Description
Alien and Philosophy: I Infest, Therefore I Am presents a philosophical exploration of the world of Alien, the simultaneously horrifying and thought-provoking sci-fi horror masterpiece, and the film franchise it spawned. The first book dedicated to exploring the philosophy raised by one of the most successful and influential sci-fi franchises of modern times Features contributions from an acclaimed team of scholars of philosophy and pop culture, led by highly experienced volume editors Explores a huge range of topics that include the philosophy of fear, Just Wars, bio-weaponry, feminism and matriarchs, perfect killers, contagion, violation, employee rights and Artificial Intelligence Includes coverage of H.R. Giger’s aesthetics, the literary influences of H.P. Lovecraft, sci-fi and the legacy of Vietnam, and much more!