July 25, 2013
Written by: Kathleen Walpole
Generation Y1 in the United States is less politically inclined than older generations. Compared to the Baby Boom Generation2 in the United States, Generation Y’s lack of civic engagement is often tied directly to the change in American social and family structures. Robert Putnam argued in his book, Bowling Alone, that compared to the Baby Boom Generation, the youth of America today are less likely to attend rallies, run for local public offices, or stay informed on issues that matter to their communities (Putnam, 2000). Other scholars and journalists have also expressed that Generation Y has become too lazy to care about the issues affecting the world. This concern has caused many to argue that civic engagement levels can be returned through the use of social media.
Firstly, the definition of civic engagement needs to be explored in this context. Good civic engagement is generally built on moral obligations from citizens in a democracy (Walpole, 2012). Citizens have a range of options they can do in order to be civically involved. Lester Milbrath, author of Political Participation, gave a brief sketch of what the various hierarchy levels of political involvement there are.
read more »
Like this:
Like Loading...
Posted in American Politics, Civic Engagement, Internet, Katie Walpole |
1 Comment »
May 10, 2013
The “Academia to Policy” column seeks to bridge the debate in academia to the adoption of policy in practice. In this inaugural Academia to Policy article, Natasha Somji discusses the challenges present in the translation of academic work to policy.
Policymakers frequently turn to academics as consultants, who are able to conduct analysis and provide background when considering how to change existing laws or propose new policies. However, the ways in which academia is translated into politics can be rather problematic.
It is often the case that policymakers have little awareness about the tools used in quantitative studies carried out by academics. Indeed there is a need to ‘dumb down’ academia to make it more accessible to the masses. While this is not problematic in itself, if the methodology is flawed, policymakers may be proposing changes that are based on questionable assumptions. Consider Gary Kleck’s and Britt Patterson’s study entitled, The Impact of Gun Control and Gun Ownership Levels on Violence Rates which has been cited time and again in the policy world to justify repealing gun laws. The research finds that gun prevalence and most gun laws have no effect on violence rates.
read more »
Like this:
Like Loading...
Posted in Academia to Policy, Canadian Politics, Natasha Somji, Public Policy |
Leave a Comment »
March 12, 2013
Nicholas Berggruen is an investor and founder of the Nicolas Berggruen Institute that studies the development of more effective systems of governance. Nathan Gardels is editor-in-chief of New Perspectives Quarterly, and senior advisor to the Nicolas Berggruen Institute. In Intelligent Governance for the 21st Century, Berggruen and Gardels critically compare the West’s liberal democracy and the East’s meritocracy. Can we learn from both?
Intelligent Governance For The 21st Century. Polity Press. 2013.
Reviewed by: Dennis Shen
Is there a middle way between China’s meritocratic single-party system and the United States’ multi-party liberal democracy? This is the question that authors’ Nicolas Berggruen and Nathan Gardels ask in their provocative book, Intelligent Governance for the 21st Century.
read more »
Like this:
Like Loading...
Posted in American Politics, Book Reviews, Dennis Shen, Political Philosophy |
Leave a Comment »
February 22, 2012
Written by: Dennis Shen
The crisis of the natural commons – our forests, our waterways, our skies, our marine fisheries, our biodiversity – is rooted in an existing failure of the international economic and regulatory system to internalize a critical externality. It reflects a system deficiency to place a price and regulate the use of the earth’s depletable and valuable natural ecosystems in a time in which continued freedom to over-use may pose real risk to the sustainability of these natural systems and in turn, the sustainability of our long-term economic path.
In 1776, Adam Smith, in the Wealth of Nations, stated that an individual, by pursuing his own interest, will be “led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention.” And in the case of private, tradable goods – the invisible hand of competitive markets has, in testament, done wonders to foster the efficient exchange of assets and maximize the product of human labour. But the marketplace works under assigned boundaries and if the current rules state the goal to be maximum short-term exploitation at the cost of long-term consequences, then that is exactly what the markets will institute into practice.
The reason a sustainable architecture to our global economy (that internalizes the price of common goods) has been difficult to come by is in part due to the historical misconception that the natural ecosystems are so vast that they cannot possibly be significantly influenced by man – a misconception founded on a history of people in which exploitation of nature has seemingly taken place without boundary or repercussion.
read more »
Like this:
Like Loading...
Posted in Dennis Shen, Economics, OTS, Politics, Public Policy |
Leave a Comment »
February 19, 2012
Written By: Matthew Oxenford
I’ve been struck by two stories running at low intensity on either side of the Atlantic for the last several months. At first, they don’t seem related. First, there is a notable uptick in anti-German sentiment that has been documented Greece and in several other countries that may need to be bailed out by the wealthier EU countries if the Euro project is to survive (See Reuters article from 16 February: “Greece-Germany tension rises, reflects wider European rift“). Secondly, the Republican Presidential primary in the United States has taken turn towards attacking the social safety net, even though the most reliably Republican regions of the United States are indeed the poorest, and most in need of the safety net (Paul Krugman’s recent article in the New York Times, “Moochers Against Welfare” is a good encapsulation of the trend). These seem unrelated, but they really have the same ultimate cause, one that has profound implications for both the United States and Europe.
The trend in the United States has been going on for longer, so let’s look at it first. Republican political rhetoric has been dominated by the trope that government should not be in the business of redistributing money to undeserving people even while the poorest of the U.S. States are the most reliably Republican. Every year, rich states, like Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York receive less than a dollar in federal spending for every dollar they pay in taxes.
read more »
Like this:
Like Loading...
Posted in American Politics, European Politics, Politics, Regulation |
Leave a Comment »
February 1, 2012
Written By: Dennis Shen
Capitalism and democracy are often characterized as the twin virtues that have defined America’s modern history and success. But capitalism and democracy do not exist in uniformity: to be more capitalistic does not invariably make us more democratic. Instead, there has always existed an intricate balance between free market principles and strong democratic governance, oftentimes counterbalancing one another, that has determined the long-run health and sustainability of a political and economic system. America’s past success in becoming the world’s leading nation was founded and sustained by its managing this balance between private markets and government better than perhaps any other country in history. The ingenuity and allocative efficiency of free markets in partnership with the vision and moral leadership of a strong American government helped design the modern world and make it in the image of a fair and decent people.
But this balance between markets and government can break down if not very carefully maintained. At the core of America’s problems today is an existing imbalance of too much dependence on unregulated, free market capitalism and too little government oversight and leadership.
read more »
Like this:
Like Loading...
Posted in American Politics, Dennis Shen, Politics, Public Policy, Regulation |
Leave a Comment »
January 18, 2012
Written By: Joel Suss
Today, Wikipedia has taken itself offline in protest. Thousands of other sites, including the host of this blog, WordPress, are taking part by removing content or by being blacked-out, protesting the first attempt by the US government to censure and control the internet. It is a monumental and unprecedented day in the life of the internet.
While the stated objective of the legislation, to tackle online intellectual property theft, is valid in principle, the effects were they to become law would have serious negative implications for the internet and may not even be effective in limiting piracy. Here are some important details about the two bills, Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA): They would allow the attorney general to create a list of sites that must be blocked. Now here is the kicker: service to these sites may be shut off without a court hearing or trial. SOPA, the bill originating in the House of Representatives, goes even further than the Senate’s PIPA, allowing private companies to sue providers for hosting sites that infringe on copyright, even if it is unwittingly doing so. Imagine Google being bombarded with lawsuits, effectively crippling it.
Click to continue reading this post on Off the Spectrum
Like this:
Like Loading...
Posted in American Politics, Information Age, Internet, Joel Suss, Media, Politics, Public Policy |
1 Comment »
Off the Spectrum 