The 43rd Canadian federal election is on the horizon. You can count on it occurring before October 21, 2019. Whatever we read, whatever we watch, politics seems to be at the forefront of global consciousness. In anticipation of the March release of David Moscrop’s book, Too Dumb for Democracy? Why We Make Bad Political Decisions and How We Can Make Better Ones, and the forthcoming election, we’re offering a crash course in contemporary politics by Moscrop, himself. In an era overshadowed by income inequality, environmental catastrophe, terrorism at home and abroad, and the decline of democracy, David Moscrop argues that the political decision-making process has never been more important. We’ll all need some of his friendly advice before the year is up.
Did you know?
Too Dumb For Democracy? got its initial conception from a 2014 radio documentary featuring Moscrop’s work that aired on CBC Radio’s Ideas when he was 30. (It’s now available as a podcast.)
CBC: Why Our Brains Aren’t Built for Democracy
“We don’t have the mental capacity to process everything in our environment with conscious awareness and intent, so we pay attention to a small percentage of the environment at any given time. But in the background, we’re non-consciously processing much, much more. And non-conscious processing later influences the decisions we make.” Read the full article here.
Ted Talk: David Moscrop
Bombarded by fake news, 24-hour news cycles, social-media posts, internet trolls, advertisements, and countless other sources appealing for our attention, how can we still make informed decisions? A democracy relies on its citizens to make educated and informed choices, yet very real forces conspire against the average person's ability to do this every day. Watch a clip from the author’s Ted Talk here.
The Globe and Mail: The United States’ perpetual state of emergency is a democratic state of emergency
“Mr. Trump’s latest proposal, citing an emergency to build a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border — a monument, it should be noted, to xenophobia, paranoia, fear, and the cult of securitization — is different.” Read the full article here.
Check back again for another instalment of our #101 series.