...how do you get better citizens?

probably the most common answer is somehow to send people better messages: broadcast shows, ads, news articles, or speeches that are more accurate, complete, informative, and motivating. since most actual messages are delivered by the mass media (and most serious observers from across the spectrum hold the mass media in contempt), another prevalent answer is to criticize or--ideally--to reform the media. i am basically skeptical of this diagnosis and strategy. a large and diverse population can choose among a vast array of media sources, most of which survive by selling advertising. this audience varies a great deal in ideology, and also in knowledge and interest; but the average level of interest in serious public affairs is not high. inevitably, the media fragment, pursue niche audiences, and provide a great deal more entertainment than news. even the most ambitious reform proposal--a kind of BBC for the united states, with a nonpartisan board and lots of public money--would have a limited impact on the whole landscape. (the BBC's flagship "news at ten" draws about 10 percent of the british population.) i know many people who hold fox news responsible for bad aspects of our politics. but i see that channel less as a cause than an outcome of public tastes and values, plus media fragmentation. conservatives who are frustrated by the "liberal media" should feel the same way about their least favorite channels. to put the problem more concretely: i don't think you can send a sufficiently powerful "message" to promote good citizenship (even if your name happens to be barack obama), because you'll be competing with far too many other messages in an astoundingly crowded market driven by pre-existing motivations and tastes. i therefore work on two alternatives: 1) get them while they're young, receptive, and a captive audience. build really engaging, unbiased, motivating, and informative civic education into the school curriculum. my blog posts categorized as advocating civic education and a high school civic curriculum are about that. 2) reform institutions so that hands-on participation by ordinary adults is welcomed and rewarding. the theory is that people who see tangible impact from their own civic engagement (mainly at the local level) will want to be informed and to exchange ideas and perspectives with people different from themselves. my blog posts about deliberation and civic reform are about that// peter levine, 11.23.09, a blog for civic renewal

lobbyists pushed off advisory panels...

hundreds, if not thousands, of lobbyists are likely to be ejected from federal advisory panels as part of a little-noticed initiative by the obama administration to curb k street's influence in washington, according to white house officials and lobbying experts. the new policy--issued with little fanfare this fall by the white house ethics counsel--may turn out to be the most far-reaching lobbying rule change so far from president obama, who also has sought to restrict the ability of lobbyists to get jobs in his administration and to negotiate over stimulus contracts. the initiative is aimed at a system of advisory committees so vast that federal officials don't have exact numbers for its size; the most recent estimates tally nearly 1,000 panels with total membership exceeding 60,000 people. under the policy, which is being phased in over the coming months, none of the more than 13,000 lobbyists in washington would be able to hold seats on the committees, which advise agencies on trade rules, troop levels, environmental regulations, consumer protections and thousands of other government policies// dan eggen, 11.27.09, the washington post

living with less: picturing the recession...

participatory theory: an overview...

the theory of participatory democracy is built round the central assertion that individuals and their institutions cannot be considered in isolation from one another. the existence of representative institutions at national level is not sufficient for democracy; for maximum participation by all the people at that level socialisation, or 'social training,' for democracy must take place in other spheres in order that the necessary individual attitudes and psychological qualities can be developed. this development takes place through the process of participation itself. the major function of participation in the theory of participatory democracy is therefore an educative one, educative in the very widest sense, including both the psychological aspect and the gaining of practice in democratic skills and procedures. thus there is no special problem about the stability of a participatory system; it is self-sustaining through the educative impact of the participatory process. participation develops and fosters the very qualities necessary for it; the more individuals participate the better able they become to do so. subsidiary hypotheses about participation are that it has an integrative effect and that it aids the acceptance of collective decisions.

therefore, for a democratic polity to exist it is necessary for a participatory society to exist, i.e. a society where all political systems have been democratised and socialisation through participation can take place in all areas. the most important area is industry; most individuals spend a great deal of their lifetime at work and the business of the workplace provides an education in the management of collective affairs that it is difficult to parallel elsewhere. the second aspect of the theory of participatory democracy is that spheres such as industry should be seen as political systems in their own right, offering areas of participation additional to the national level. if individuals are to exercise the maximum amount of control over their own lives and environment then authority structures in these areas must be so organised that they can participate in decision making. a further reason for the central place of industry in the theory relates to the substantive measure of economic equality required to give the individual the independence and security necessary for (equal) participation; the democratising of industrial authority structures, abolishing the permanent distinction between 'managers' and 'men' would mean a large step toward meeting this condition// carole pateman, participation and democratic theory

the public mind...

( illusions of news )

mondragón...

what has 120 different companies, 42,000 worker-owners, 43 schools, one college, does more than 4.8 billion dollars of business annually in manufacturing, services, retail and wholesale distribution, administers more than $5 billion in financial assets, and has a business model that is based on workers' self-management and the principles of the catholic social doctrine? answer: the mondragón cooperatives. in 1941, a bishop sent a young priest to teach in a vocational school in spain's basque country. in addition to the technical curriculum, young father jose maria arizmediarrieta taught the social doctrine of the catholic church to his students. some of the students began a small cooperative that built kerosene stoves. in 1959, they started what we would today call a credit union. today, the associated mondragón cooperatives manufacture automobile parts, electronic components, valves, taps, appliances. they have a full line of retail outlets offering consumer products, food, appliances, and a wholesale food business catering to restaurants. their bank has more than 100 branches, they offer a full range of insurance, and take care of their own social security and health insurance programs. they are not only holding their own within the "globalizing" economy, they are expanding. this is one of the success stories of people who take the church's social doctrine seriously, in particular, the teachings regarding (1) the dignity of the human person and his or her labour, (2) social solidarity and (3) the primacy of labour over capital. in most for profit businesses, labour is hired at the service of capital. for mondragón, capital is something they rent to benefit the worker-owners// okc catholic worker

easy and effective group action...

whether you're raising money, organizing people, or trying to influence change: if you can't do it alone, you can do it on the point. watch more examples//

chomsky on hardtalk, 11.03.09...

the economic revolution is already happening...

america is in the midst of a new revolution. but this revolution is quiet, incremental, nonviolent, and traveling beneath the mainstream media's radar. the new american revolution challenges the current notions of dog-eat-dog capitalism—through the building of a parallel economic system that shares, cooperates, empowers, and benefits fellow workers and community members. over the past few decades, thousands of alternatives to the standard, top-down corporate model have sprouted up—worker-owned companies and cooperatives, neighborhood corporations and trusts, community-owned technology centers and municipally owned enterprises. in fact, today, involvement in these alternative models of business outnumber union membership as the means by which private-sector workers and community members are taking economics into their own hands. author and political scientist gar alperovitz talks about it with maria armoudian// 10.07.09, alternet

a healthy outlook on life...

i don’t think of meaning and happiness. life has no meaning and searching for it is silly. we should spend our time reducing suffering of others we share this planet with, both people and animals. if we can, we should make the world less harsh, and encourage exploration and science because we are a curious people. happiness comes and goes and we know what makes us happy and if we can, we should do those things. there is no value in misery. death does not give me meaning. that makes no sense to me. this frantic search for meaning leaves me cold. the reframing of religion as spiritual, does likewise. there is no god, there is no meaning. and yet, i reach out to people all the time to try and help reduce their pain. i am compelled to do so. people tell me my life is meaningful. no, my acts have meaning for those i help, and while that is good, it does not mean i have a meaningful life. i am alive and that is what is important. and then i will be dead. and that will be that. nothing is “alloted” to us. that assumes an “allotor” which isn’t the case. it’s hard to accept at first that this is all there is, and the only meaning is what you make, but once you do, it’s liberating. i’ve really enjoyed this journey. it’s been great to be here and i hope the end is peaceful and wanted when it comes, but don’t we all// a.r., 11.03.09, new york times

elinor ostrom: the latest nobel winner in econ...

ostrom’s scholarship over the past three decades has demonstrated that self-organized communities of “commoners” are quite capable of managing finite natural resources without destroying them. the problem with the “tragedy” narrative, ostrom realized, is that it does not describe the actualities of real commons. functioning commons have boundaries that limit access, social rules, and punishment for “free riders.” against the growing tide of pro-market fervor in the 1980s, ostrom realized that all institutions did not need to emulate the market and its imperatives for growth, centralization and efficiency. communities can self-organize themselves to develop their own rules and social norms to allocate resources. they can devise their own oversight methods and sanctions to protect the commons. there can be multiple centers of stewardship, an idea that she and her husband, political scientist vincent ostrom, dubbed “polycentricity”// david bollier, 10.13.09, on the commons

the commons...

( on the commons )

the new science of temptation...

the authors suggest that (their) findings demonstrate the human capacity to, at least temporarily, achieve a state of “moral grace” – a state devoid of selfish temptation. but what good does this state serve? why would we be averse, or even indifferent, to cheating when we could benefit from it? perhaps because our automatic responses have evolved in social environments where self-interested behavior in the short-term has not always lead to personal gains over the long-term. gaining a reputation as a cheat would be a one-way ticket to ostracism. having intuitions sensitive to equity and the needs of others would promote the formation and maintenance of cooperative relationships that would ultimately be of benefit to the individual. greene and paxton’s findings fit nicely with this idea, as well as past research showing that many of our intuitions regarding equity/fairness actually promote prosocial behavior, and we overcome them at our peril. this is not only because of the positive social consequences they confer, but also because the cognitive processes we use to overcome them can be susceptible to bias, motivated reasoning, justification and rationalization// piercarlo valdesolo, 11.03.09, scientific american