This book is the latest version of Sunstein’s analysis of the role of social media and the internet in modern democracies. I like it for its fresh, uncomplicated style and profound insights. It pleads for an open society in which citizens are well-informed and have access to a wide range of ideas and topics. But social media carry the risk of fragmentation, i.e., people prefer to live in ‘echo chambers or information cocoons’.
The internet allows people to listen only to views they agree with and shut out alternative views. The rise of populism and the polarization of opinions constitute grave dangers for democracy. The book is, as the Economist put it, required reading for anyone who is concerned with the future of democracy.
From the New York Times bestselling author of Nudge and The World According to Star Wars, a revealing account of how today's Internet threatens democracy--and what can be done about it As the Internet grows more sophisticated, it is creating new threats to democracy. Social media companies such as Facebook can sort us ever more efficiently into groups of the like-minded, creating echo chambers that amplify our views. It's no accident that on some occasions, people of different political views cannot even understand each other. It's also no surprise that terrorist groups have been able to exploit social media to…
I find this book highly interesting because it tells the story of capitalism from a cosmopolitan angle. It focuses on the history of market capitalism from the second half of the 19th century to the Great War. It was during this period that capitalism triumphed and swept around the world. Eventually, it led to globalization in many spheres, which causes problems today.
Sassoon explains how and why Britain became a world power and how other nations quickly caught up. It contains some 20 Tables with economic data illustrating this global triumph. One of the most interesting aspects of the book, from my point of view, is that the state has always had a crucial role to play in order ‘to tame the beast.’ This intervention includes a ‘set of legislative institutions regulating competition.’ The book is well-researched, informative, and a delight to read.
The long-awaited magnum opus of one of Britain's most wide-ranging historians
Capitalist enterprise has existed in some form since ancient times, but the globalization and dominance of capitalism as a system began in the 1860s when, in different forms and supported by different political forces, states all over the world developed their modern political frameworks: the unifications of Italy and Germany, the establishment of a republic in France, the elimination of slavery in the American south, the Meiji Restoration in Japan, the emancipation of the serfs in Tsarist Russia. This book magnificently explores how, after the upheavals of industrialisation, a…
Many intellectuals and politicians are worried about the rise of populism. Many of us have a vague idea of populism, but Müller provides a very useful clarification of what populism means. It is a very short but informative book. Populism is not a new phenomenon. However, what I found most revealing is the thesis that populism, according to the author, is neither an authentic part nor a pathology of modern democracies. Rather, ‘it is the permanent shadow of representative politics.’ He means that democracy is fragile.
In vulnerable moments, some political actors will claim to speak in the name of the disgruntled ‘real people.’ They pretend to represent the ‘will of the people’, even though, at best, only a slim majority of the electorate votes for them. I like it that Müller does not simply dismiss populists; his analysis shows why we should be wary of them.
Donald Trump, Silvio Berlusconi, Marine Le Pen, Hugo Chavez-populists are on the rise across the globe. But what exactly is populism? Should everyone who criticizes Wall Street or Washington be called a populist? What precisely is the difference between right-wing and left-wing populism? Does populism bring government closer to the people or is it a threat to democracy? Who are "the people" anyway and who can speak in their name? These questions have never been more pressing.
In this groundbreaking volume, Jan-Werner Muller argues that at populism's core is a rejection of pluralism. Populists will always claim that they and…
"Karl R. Popper is widely regarded as one of the most influential philosophers of the 20th century. He is most famous for his principle of falsification but his work covered both the natural sciences (physics, evolutionary biology) and the social sciences (sociology and political philosophy). He was an ardent advocate of the open society and democracy.
This intellectual biography, which draws on both published and unpublished work (including his correspondence), covers all these areas and pays particular attention to Popper’s critical method: the critical scrutiny of ideas and institutions.
Popper defended Enlightenment ideas of objectivity, rationality and realism. He opposed all forms of irrationalism and nationalism. He was delightfully anti-authoritarian and cosmopolitan. In today’s troubled world, his views have renewed significance."
