Answers Updated
Amusing Ourselves to Death thesis
-medium of conversations drives the content
-predominant medium changes culture
-medium: printed to visual
-tv has made what we know not related to the decision making in our lives
- what we know is disjointed + incomplete, best fit for amusement, not rational thought
or argument
ch 1-5
smoke signals: medium discloses content
news of the day
typographic America
peekaboo culture (quick look then gone out of context)
what is "good" tv
ch 6-10
tv changed religious expectations and quality
made charismatic candidates thrive
Ideology
belief system, underlying psychological structure
-individuals use it to understand politics + develop opinions
-allows them to relate issues to another + form a consistent opinion
-serves as motivation for behavior rationally related to the ideology itself
economic conservatives
gov tries to do too much that should be left to private sector
social conservatives
gov power should uphold traditional values
economic liberals
gov should do more to assist those with trouble meeting economic needs
, social liberals
gov play no role in defining values, policies that allow for unconventional values without
discrimination
libertarians
small gov both economically + socially
populists
active gov for economic assistance + promotion of traditional values
Economic Bill of Rights
FDR:
-shifts things from political to economic rights
-movement toward security in "pursuit of happiness"
-"individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence"
second bill of rights
-job
-income for food, clothing, recreation
-farm prices + wages that lead to decent living
-trade without interference from monopolies/unfair competition
-health care
-good education
-protection from old age, sickness, accident, unemployment
Modern Liberalism: things to note
-shift away from the found
-recognition that things must change
-life too complex for individuals to sustain their own opportunities
-liberty redefined as freedom to operate within a guaranteed set of economic outcomes
Russell Kirk: 10 Conservative Principles
-conservatism is the negotiation of ideology
1) enduring moral order
2) custom, convention, continuity
3) principles of prescription- time tested usage
4) principles of prudence