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I think an important question to ask with regards to Democracy is "why do people believe the things they believe" or "how do they acquire their political belief

I think an important question to ask with regards to Democracy is "why do people believe the things they believe" or "how do they acquire their political beliefs?" The biggest influencers are likely 1) their family and 2) their friends. Essentially, they come from social interaction. People need a (fun) way to increase the number of real social interactions they have with other people. What's really dangerous right now is that many (including Liberals) are socially shunning those who don't share their political beliefs (or are not pure enough in their beliefs). Pushing people to the fringes of society will just force them to find a home in the most extreme among us. For a long time, Americans relied on social clubs that allowed people to engage in diverse political discussions but also build friendly relationships with others. I would like to see startups try to revive long lived, persistent social organizations that are aimed first at building a friendly community among its members and second at making people listen to different points of view.

drabiega 10y ago
I don't think this is going to be possible until the basic arguments over what information sources are factual is resolved. Over the past decade I've seen the social structures that I grew up bifurcate because discussion between the two sides is basically impossible.
- makomk 10y ago
  I don't think the basic arguments over facts are going to be resolved so long as people shun those who don't agree with them politically. Especially in the current social media climate, false claims spread like wildfire while the debunkings languish because people only spread or listen to stuff that supports their existing beliefs. My Twitter feed is probably typical for HN and I've been seeing this multiple times a day. There isn't even any media panic over it like the one over conservative "fake news" because it supports their existing beliefs too; often journalists are helping spread the claims on social media like everyone else.

drabiega 10y ago

I don't think this is going to be possible until the basic arguments over what information sources are factual is resolved. Over the past decade I've seen the social structures that I grew up bifurcate because discussion between the two sides is basically impossible.

makomk 10y ago
I don't think the basic arguments over facts are going to be resolved so long as people shun those who don't agree with them politically. Especially in the current social media climate, false claims spread like wildfire while the debunkings languish because people only spread or listen to stuff that supports their existing beliefs. My Twitter feed is probably typical for HN and I've been seeing this multiple times a day. There isn't even any media panic over it like the one over conservative "fake news" because it supports their existing beliefs too; often journalists are helping spread the claims on social media like everyone else.