Attention deficit democracy : the paradox of civic engagement / Ben Berger.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Preface -- Introduction -- The rules of engagement -- Political engagement as intrinsic good: Arendt and company -- Political engagement as instrumental good: Tocqueville, attention deficit, and energy -- Is political engagement better than sex? -- Conclusion: Tocqueville vs. the full monty.

Print version record.

Handwringing about political apathy is as old as democracy itself. As early as 425 BC, the playwright Aristophanes ridiculed his fellow Athenians for gossiping in the market instead of voting. In more recent decades, calls for greater civic engagement as a democratic cure-all have met with widespread agreement. But how realistic--or helpful--is it to expect citizens to devote more attention and energy to politics? In Attention Deficit Democracy, Ben Berger provides a surprising new perspective on the problem of civic engagement, challenging idealists who aspire to revolutionize democracies and their citizens, but also taking issue with cynics who think that citizens cannot, and need not, do better.

English.

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