The Politics of Misinformation is an examination of how concentrations of social and economic power result in public languages of politics that are necessarily image-based, vague, and misleading in their denial of undemocratic tendencies. As a result, public discourses of democracy tend to be populistic, emotional, and likely to emphasize images of progress rather than structural inequalities in their formulations of public problems. Similarly, discourses of policy solutions to public problems emphasize assumptions about rationality in policy processes that are equally poor descriptions of most political outcomes. In short, neither typical problem definitions nor solutions invite critical popular understanding or involvement in democratic politics.

This book is about how people in power use language to generate and perpetuate misunderstandings.
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"Those deeply pessimistic about contemporary American politics will find great comfort in this volume." Choice



Book Information
ISBN 9780521801171
Author Murray Edelman
Format Hardback
Page Count 152
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 335g
Dimensions(mm) 237mm * 159mm * 17mm