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Political polarization is engagement sure, but of what use is engagement when the subject itself is not subjective? Seems to me there is a lot of manufactured d

• hunglee2 4y ago
  > Seems to me there is a lot of manufactured dissent to fracture or further curb political lines. making sides about every single issue. yes, I think this is fair assessment. however, democracy - and liberal society - encourages this. Social media is only an accelerant to practices which have already present - the only difference is that narrative formation itself has been democratised and so can now be more effectively contested. In perverse way, this is kind of another characteristic of democratic systems. It could be that what we have today is the natural evolution of democratic systems, this is what it looks like when we democratize the means of mass communication. If we are not happy with this, then we need to reform the political system to encourage the outcomes we prefer. Suppressing the information is the other option, which the author implicitly endorses
• SpicyLemonZest 4y ago
  But is the fracturing coming from poor leadership, or is it coming because the newly engaged grassroots demand it? Nobody will self-identify with the phrase "manufactured dissent", but I suspect the average politically engaged person would tell you that politicians are a bit too chummy with each other and it's good when activists make them confront tough issues to see where their values really lie. (Did you hear about the Schumer protest this week, where a pile of random staffers occupied his office to demand he take a harder line on climate negotiations?)