Have we now become “too dumb for democracy”. Well, not really in that sense
The subtitles are fairly self-explanatory about what’s in the new book, “Why we make bad political decisions, and how we can make better ones”
The book is an extension of David Moscrap’s doctoral thesis. There was obviously some serious thought that went into it as Moscrap received his PhD. Moscrop is a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Ottawa, columnist, journalist, commentator, and author.
ListenYou might look at your political leader and ask, how did we elect THAT person, what were we thinking, and why are we so dumb? You might also question the decisions of those same political leaders asking questions like how could they decide to do something so stupid?
So are we too dumb for democracy?
David Moscrop (PhD) University of Ottawa post doctoral fellow, columnist, commentator, author (supplied)
Moscrop feels that the state of democracy at present is not at its best, and perhaps to an extent, in some doubt for the future.
He says it behooves voters to be aware at least of some of the basics of the political situation that affects them and not just vote on the basis of a leader’s looks for example.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The book is well-timed in that the current Liberal government is mired in an ethics scandal in an election year. (Justin Tang- CP)
He notes the complexity of informing oneself about politics is made even more complex by disinformation campaigns and distortions of facts and outside influences. He feels we are easily overwhelmed by information and too often tune out and revert to simplistic solutions such as he or she speaks well so I’ll vote for them, or mom and dad voted this way so I will too. He says people should have much better reasons for making voting choices, and also how we may be being influenced by misleading campaigns or information.
Moscrop feels people should make an effort to learn more about the politicians and policies even though its become more complex for a variety of reasons. He also says politics should and could become more inclusive. Both these concepts will improve the declining state of democracy (Justin Tang-CP)
It’s not a lot different for those making the decisions either.
Moscrop offers some solutions to improve the democratic political process which includes making politics more inclusive for the general population, something he feels is not complicated to achieve.
The book is timed well as Canada heads for an election later this year, but Moscrop says it’s not only about a Canadian situation but relevant to all western democracies.
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