POSC 225 Lecture 1: POSC 1
Document Summary
Inegalitarianism: leaving out a huge group of people: women: couldn"t vote or own property, blacks, native americans. Involves careful gathering of information to form knowledgeable views. Have conversations about others views to learn. Main barrier: unwillingness of citizens to make effort to self-inform. Changes in media consumption: more people consume biased cable tv and blogs pbs news, twitter (cid:498)spin by political leaders and government entities(cid:499) Research shows faulty perceptions becoming more prevalent. Political science: systematic study of government and politics. Descriptive and analytical discipline; can increase ability to think politically. Shows americans culture of individualism was important obstacle to whole- scale healthcare reform: affordable healthcare has too many issues. Individualistic culture has roots in colonial wilderness society. Americas core ideals are rooted in european heritage of first white settlers: times have changed. Liberty: individuals should be free to act as they choose, unsettled land fostered freedom through migration, many fled to europe to escape religious persecution.
