Politics Is for Power

Politics Is for Power
Author :
Publisher : Scribner
Total Pages : 288
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9781982116781
ISBN-13 : 1982116781
Rating : 4/5 (781 Downloads)

Book Synopsis Politics Is for Power by : Eitan Hersh

Download or read book Politics Is for Power written by Eitan Hersh and published by Scribner. This book was released on 2020-01-14 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A brilliant condemnation of political hobbyism—treating politics like entertainment—and a call to arms for well-meaning, well-informed citizens who consume political news, but do not take political action. Who is to blame for our broken politics? The uncomfortable answer to this question starts with ordinary citizens with good intentions. We vote (sometimes) and occasionally sign a petition or attend a rally. But we mainly “engage” by consuming politics as if it’s a sport or a hobby. We soak in daily political gossip and eat up statistics about who’s up and who’s down. We tweet and post and share. We crave outrage. The hours we spend on politics are used mainly as pastime. Instead, we should be spending the same number of hours building political organizations, implementing a long-term vision for our city or town, and getting to know our neighbors, whose votes will be needed for solving hard problems. We could be accumulating power so that when there are opportunities to make a difference—to lobby, to advocate, to mobilize—we will be ready. But most of us who are spending time on politics today are focused inward, choosing roles and activities designed for our short-term pleasure. We are repelled by the slow-and-steady activities that characterize service to the common good. In Politics Is for Power, pioneering and brilliant data analyst Eitan Hersh shows us a way toward more effective political participation. Aided by political theory, history, cutting-edge social science, as well as remarkable stories of ordinary citizens who got off their couches and took political power seriously, this book shows us how to channel our energy away from political hobbyism and toward empowering our values.


Politics Is for Power Related Books

Politics Is for Power
Language: en
Pages: 288
Authors: Eitan Hersh
Categories: Political Science
Type: BOOK - Published: 2020-01-14 - Publisher: Scribner

GET EBOOK

A brilliant condemnation of political hobbyism—treating politics like entertainment—and a call to arms for well-meaning, well-informed citizens who consume
The Beginning of Politics
Language: en
Pages: 232
Authors: Moshe Halbertal
Categories: Philosophy
Type: BOOK - Published: 2019-06-18 - Publisher: Princeton University Press

GET EBOOK

The Book of Samuel is universally acknowledged as one of the supreme achievements of biblical literature. Yet the book's anonymous author was more than an inspi
Power Politics
Language: en
Pages: 324
Authors: Martin Wight
Categories: Political Science
Type: BOOK - Published: 2002-06-18 - Publisher: A&C Black

GET EBOOK

This account of state-systems, which derives not from theoretical models but from the study of state-systems that have actually existed, emphasizes their moral
Power, Politics and the Emotions
Language: en
Pages: 226
Authors: Shona Hunter
Categories: Law
Type: BOOK - Published: 2015-06-05 - Publisher: Routledge

GET EBOOK

How can we rethink ideas of policy failure to consider its paradoxes and contradictions as a starting point for more hopeful democratic encounters? Offering a p
Soft Power
Language: en
Pages: 216
Authors: Joseph S Nye Jr
Categories: Political Science
Type: BOOK - Published: 2009-04-28 - Publisher: PublicAffairs

GET EBOOK

Joseph Nye coined the term "soft power" in the late 1980s. It is now used frequently—and often incorrectly—by political leaders, editorial writers, and acad