Democracy in the Age of New Media
The Politics of the Spectacle
©2011
Textbook
VIII,
180 Pages
Summary
In the age of the spectacle, democracy has never looked so bleak. Our world, saturated with media and marketing, endlessly confronts us with spectacles vying for our attention: from Apple and 9/11 to Facebook and the global financial crisis. Democratic politics, by comparison, remain far from engaging. A society obsessed with spectacles results in a complete misfiring of the democratic system.
This book uses critical democratic theory to outline the effects of consumer culture on citizenship. It highlights the importance that public space plays in creating the critical culture necessary for a healthy democracy, and outlines how contemporary ‘public’ spaces – shopping centres, the Internet, social networking sites and suburban communities – contribute to this culture. Terrorism, ecological destruction and the financial crisis are also outlined as symptoms of the politics of the spectacle. The book concludes with some basic principles and novel suggestions which could be employed to avoid the pitfalls inherent in our spectacular existence.
This book uses critical democratic theory to outline the effects of consumer culture on citizenship. It highlights the importance that public space plays in creating the critical culture necessary for a healthy democracy, and outlines how contemporary ‘public’ spaces – shopping centres, the Internet, social networking sites and suburban communities – contribute to this culture. Terrorism, ecological destruction and the financial crisis are also outlined as symptoms of the politics of the spectacle. The book concludes with some basic principles and novel suggestions which could be employed to avoid the pitfalls inherent in our spectacular existence.
Details
- Pages
- VIII, 180
- Publication Year
- 2011
- ISBN (PDF)
- 9781453901335
- ISBN (Softcover)
- 9781433109102
- ISBN (Hardcover)
- 9781433109119
- DOI
- 10.3726/978-1-4539-0133-5
- Language
- English
- Publication date
- 2011 (March)
- Keywords
- Politics Media Citizenship Technology Public Space Democracy New Media Digital Media Hannah Arendt Deliberative Democracy Agonistic Democracy Critical Theory Jurgen Habermas
- Published
- New York, Bern, Berlin, Bruxelles, Frankfurt am Main, Oxford, Wien, 2011. VIII, 180 pp.