Optimism In Politics

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Optimism in Politics

Author : Walter Laqueur
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1351501453
Total Pages : 272 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (515 download)

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Book Synopsis Optimism in Politics by : Walter Laqueur

Download or read book Optimism in Politics written by Walter Laqueur and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-12-02 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This new collection by Walter Laqueur, one of the most distinguished historians and political commentators of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, vividly brings to life his perspective on fifty years of political life. The essays in this volume deal with events ranging from more than seventy years ago to some that have not yet happened, but may in years to come. Laqueur divides his writings into five main areas: optimism in politics, the topic that unites this volume; Europe; the Arab Spring; Israel and Jewish affairs; and recollections of the past.This volume addresses an increasingly important question: How much optimism do we need in politics? Some neuroscientists believe that many of our assessments rest on an excess of optimism amounting to a dangerous bias. Another school of cognitive scientists sees the main danger in being influenced too much by negative conclusions. Although these competing perspectives have been only rarely investigated, Laqueur argues that such psychological factors play a decisive role in the assessment of political trends, and they should.Laqueur also reminds readers that there is a connection between writing history and commenting on current affairs, but it is not remotely as close and simple as often thought. The idea that the historian is somehow better qualified than others to interpret the present, let alone predict the future, is certainly not borne out by the evidence. Some great historians have been good and reliable political commentators, others have been miserable failures. Laqueur definitely falls in the former camp, as these reflections attest."

Hope

Author : Simon Wortham
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1350105287
Total Pages : 184 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (51 download)

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Book Synopsis Hope by : Simon Wortham

Download or read book Hope written by Simon Wortham and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2019-11-14 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A colourful map of the current conflict between pessimism and optimism in Western politics and theory, Hope attempts to reveal both the deep history and contemporary necessity of political hopefulness. Starting in the 17th century with Spinoza, Wortham tells the story of the various fallacies and insights of pessimism and optimism through the 18th century with the help of Kant and Voltaire through to the famously nihilistic writings of Nietzsche and the 20th century works of thinkers such as Benjamin, Arendt, Kristeva and Fanon (to name but a few). He explores the contemporary significance of ideas such as affirmation, sovereignty, violence, therapy, existentialism and, of course, the oft maligned notion of 'hopefulness' to create a politics of optimism which avoids the pitfalls of uncritical acceptance of the status quo or the newest political idea. Short chapters written in an engaging narrative manner enable the reader to follow the story of political optimism over the last 4 centuries inspiring a new way of thinking about the transformative uses of hopefulness.

Worldchanging

Author : Alex Steffen
Publisher : ABRAMS
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 604 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Worldchanging by : Alex Steffen

Download or read book Worldchanging written by Alex Steffen and published by ABRAMS. This book was released on 2008-03 with total page 604 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Building a better future locally and globally is the topic of this user's guide written by a diverse collaborative of innovators. "Worldchanging" demonstrates that the means for making a difference lie all around.

Cruel Optimism

Author : Lauren Berlant
Publisher : Duke University Press Books
ISBN 13 : 9780822351115
Total Pages : 352 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (511 download)

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Book Synopsis Cruel Optimism by : Lauren Berlant

Download or read book Cruel Optimism written by Lauren Berlant and published by Duke University Press Books. This book was released on 2011-10-27 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A relation of cruel optimism exists when something you desire is actually an obstacle to your flourishing. Offering bold new ways of conceiving the present, Lauren Berlant describes the cruel optimism that has prevailed since the 1980s, as the social-democratic promise of the postwar period in the United States and Europe has retracted. People have remained attached to unachievable fantasies of the good life—with its promises of upward mobility, job security, political and social equality, and durable intimacy—despite evidence that liberal-capitalist societies can no longer be counted on to provide opportunities for individuals to make their lives “add up to something.” Arguing that the historical present is perceived affectively before it is understood in any other way, Berlant traces affective and aesthetic responses to the dramas of adjustment that unfold amid talk of precarity, contingency, and crisis. She suggests that our stretched-out present is characterized by new modes of temporality, and she explains why trauma theory—with its focus on reactions to the exceptional event that shatters the ordinary—is not useful for understanding the ways that people adjust over time, once crisis itself has become ordinary. Cruel Optimism is a remarkable affective history of the present.

Compromise in an Age of Party Polarization

Author : Jennifer Wolak
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN 13 : 0197510493
Total Pages : 233 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (975 download)

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Book Synopsis Compromise in an Age of Party Polarization by : Jennifer Wolak

Download or read book Compromise in an Age of Party Polarization written by Jennifer Wolak and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2020 with total page 233 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Congressional debates are increasingly defined by gridlock and stalemate, with partisan showdowns that lead to government shutdowns. Compromise in Congress seems hard to reach. But do politicians deserve all the blame? Legislators who resist concessions and stand firm to their convictions might be doing just what voters want them to do. If this is true, however, then citizens must shoulder some of the responsibility for gridlock in Congress. This book challenges this wisdom and argues that Americans value compromise as a way to resolve differences in times of partisan division. Using evidence from a variety of surveys and innovative experiments, the book demonstrates that citizens want more from politics than just ideological representation - they also care about the processes by which disagreements are settled. Americans believe that compromise is a virtuous way to resolve political disputes. Because people's desire for compromise is deeply rooted in socialized support for democratic values, principled beliefs about compromise can serve as a check on partisan thinking. Across a range of settings, people's support for compromise persists even when it comes at the cost of partisan goals and policy objectives. People give warmer evaluations to members of Congress who are willing to compromise, and view compromise legislation as more legitimate. People care about not just outcomes, but also the way decisions are reached. Winning isn't everything in politics. People also value the democratic principle of compromise."--

The Political Optimist

Author : Keith Kelsch
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780982731321
Total Pages : 260 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (313 download)

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Book Synopsis The Political Optimist by : Keith Kelsch

Download or read book The Political Optimist written by Keith Kelsch and published by . This book was released on 2015-05-30 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A political optimist imposes confidence from an elitist distance. They are outside consultants telling you how to handle an inside crisis. They look and sound close, but in truth, their heart is far from you. They charge the air with their capital success without any attempt to understand your concerned mind. In a way, greater success separates the political person from the responsibility of genuine optimism.Today we use the distance of success to magically detach us from the burdens and disagreements others carry. This is opposite the genuine leader who carries those burdens and openly stands to be questioned. At every turn, political optimists produce top-down, centrally controlled organizations with no access to rise against their authority. This model places leadership at a greater distance from a genuine democracy of dissent.If you want to understand the political nature of false optimism that creates division and separation in your institutions, and if you want to get practical solutions for removing politics from your organization, your family, and even your government, then read The Political Optimists. If there is one thing this book will do, it will ignite a long overdue discussion about democracy and its tendency to spawn more centralized control and more idolatry for authority. The solution to a political world is nothing new but something lost. The political Optimist highlights our lost humanity for optimism and calls for a return to the sanity of common consent.

The Optimism Bias

Author : Tali Sharot
Publisher : Vintage
ISBN 13 : 0307379833
Total Pages : 273 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (73 download)

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Book Synopsis The Optimism Bias by : Tali Sharot

Download or read book The Optimism Bias written by Tali Sharot and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2011-06-14 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Psychologists have long been aware that most people maintain an irrationally positive outlook on life—but why? Turns out, we might be hardwired that way. In this absorbing exploration, Tali Sharot—one of the most innovative neuroscientists at work today—demonstrates that optimism may be crucial to human existence. The Optimism Bias explores how the brain generates hope and what happens when it fails; how the brains of optimists and pessimists differ; why we are terrible at predicting what will make us happy; how emotions strengthen our ability to recollect; how anticipation and dread affect us; how our optimistic illusions affect our financial, professional, and emotional decisions; and more. Drawing on cutting-edge science, The Optimism Bias provides us with startling new insight into the workings of the brain and the major role that optimism plays in determining how we live our lives.

Boundless Optimism

Author : Patricia E. Roy
Publisher : UBC Press
ISBN 13 : 0774823917
Total Pages : 429 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (748 download)

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Book Synopsis Boundless Optimism by : Patricia E. Roy

Download or read book Boundless Optimism written by Patricia E. Roy and published by UBC Press. This book was released on 2012-11-01 with total page 429 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Patricia E. Roy is the winner of the 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award, Canadian Historical Association. The first decade and a half of the twentieth century was mostly a time of unprecedented prosperity and growth in British Columbia. Although its colonial history was still etched in the public psyche, BC was coming into its own as a province of Canada and starting to realize the untapped economic potential of its natural resources. Richard McBride served four terms as BC’s premier, from 1903 to 1915, building a reputation as a charismatic and optimistic leader whose vision of a modern, industrialized, and wealthy province helped shape BC’s institutions and its place in the British world. McBride stabilized the legislature by introducing party lines, promoted provincial causes in Ottawa, and above all encouraged new railways. His fight for “Better Terms” and his association with leading federal Conservatives made him a national figure, while his support of the Imperial navy and British investment brought him attention in London and a knighthood. Boundless Optimism chronicles the brilliant career of this often-overlooked leader and the province he helped create.

Inventing Futurism

Author : Christine Poggi
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780691133706
Total Pages : 418 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (337 download)

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Book Synopsis Inventing Futurism by : Christine Poggi

Download or read book Inventing Futurism written by Christine Poggi and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2009 with total page 418 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1909 the poet Filippo Tommaso Marinetti published the founding manifesto of Italian Futurism, an inflammatory celebration of "the love of danger" and "the beauty of speed" that provoked readers to take aggressive action and "glorify war--the world's only hygiene." Marinetti's words unleashed an influential artistic and political movement that has since been neglected owing to its exaltation of violence and nationalism, its overt manipulation of mass media channels, and its associations with Fascism. Inventing Futurism is a major reassessment of Futurism that reintegrates it into the history of twentieth-century avant-garde artistic movements. Countering the standard view of Futurism as naïvely bellicose, Christine Poggi argues that Futurist artists and writers were far more ambivalent in their responses to the shocks of industrial modernity than Marinetti's incendiary pronouncements would suggest. She closely examines Futurist literature, art, and politics within the broader context of Italian social history, revealing a surprisingly powerful undercurrent of anxiety among the Futurists--toward the accelerated rhythms of urban life, the rising influence of the masses, changing gender roles, and the destructiveness of war. Poggi traces the movement from its explosive beginnings through its transformations under Fascism to offer completely new insights into familiar Futurist themes, such as the thrill and trauma of velocity, the psychology of urban crowds, and the fantasy of flesh fused with metal, among others. Lavishly illustrated and unparalleled in scope, Inventing Futurism demonstrates that beneath Futurism's belligerent avant-garde posturing lay complex and contradictory attitudes toward an always-deferred utopian future.

The Optimism Gap

Author : David Whitman
Publisher : Walker & Company
ISBN 13 : 9780802713346
Total Pages : 190 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (133 download)

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Book Synopsis The Optimism Gap by : David Whitman

Download or read book The Optimism Gap written by David Whitman and published by Walker & Company. This book was released on 1998 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A writer for U.S. News & World Report identifies the public opinion paradox of the "optimism gap" where Americans express good feelings about their own lives but view the country as a whole pessimistically.

Election Meltdown

Author : Richard L. Hasen
Publisher : Yale University Press
ISBN 13 : 0300252862
Total Pages : 202 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (2 download)

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Book Synopsis Election Meltdown by : Richard L. Hasen

Download or read book Election Meltdown written by Richard L. Hasen and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2020-02-04 with total page 202 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the nation’s leading expert, an indispensable analysis of key threats to the integrity of the 2020 American presidential election As the 2020 presidential campaign begins to take shape, there is widespread distrust of the fairness and accuracy of American elections. In this timely and accessible book, Richard L. Hasen uses riveting stories illustrating four factors increasing the mistrust. Voter suppression has escalated as a Republican tool aimed to depress turnout of likely Democratic voters, fueling suspicion. Pockets of incompetence in election administration, often in large cities controlled by Democrats, have created an opening to claims of unfairness. Old-fashioned and new-fangled dirty tricks, including foreign and domestic misinformation campaigns via social media, threaten electoral integrity. Inflammatory rhetoric about “stolen” elections supercharges distrust among hardcore partisans. Taking into account how each of these threats has manifested in recent years—most notably in the 2016 and 2018 elections—Hasen offers concrete steps that need to be taken to restore trust in American elections before the democratic process is completely undermined.

The Optimistic Leftist

Author : Ruy Teixeira
Publisher : St. Martin's Press
ISBN 13 : 1250089662
Total Pages : 273 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (5 download)

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Book Synopsis The Optimistic Leftist by : Ruy Teixeira

Download or read book The Optimistic Leftist written by Ruy Teixeira and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2017-03-07 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Teixeira examines "the structural and economic shifts remaking advanced societies and [believes] that the left is in a far better position to advance its agenda than the right. Eventually, [he says], the right will be forced to play on the left's terms to be competitive. This is because only the left has growing, not declining, coalitional strength and only the left is willing to confront and solve capitalism's 'Piketty problem' (a vicious cycle of rising inequality, stagnating living standards, and slowing economic growth) by building a new equitable-growth 'opportunity state'"--

Optimism

Author : Bob Brown
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781742707662
Total Pages : 272 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (76 download)

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Book Synopsis Optimism by : Bob Brown

Download or read book Optimism written by Bob Brown and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Optimism, Bob Brown shares with us his stories and insights from throughout his public and private life, that reveal the events that have made an impression, the ideas that have caught his imagination, and the people that have stayed in his thoughts. This book reflects on the simple things, the moments that are meaningful, and the big questions that have concerned Bob Brown and inspired him to achieve. It is a powerful book as well as a meditation on the great and the small. Inspirational, compassionate, outraged, Bob Brown's stories are rich with metaphor, entertaining and full of warmth. A great promoter of activism he is keen for all to experience life as richly as he has. Although he has seen much of the world through the prism of politics he still believes that there is reason to believe that the changes he has pursued can be made and will be for the better. His stories reveal a complex man with a quick wit and a joy for life. "It is a fortunate life if a person feels more optimistic than ever before. That's me." Bob Brown

Pessimism of the Intellect, Optimism of the Will

Author : Kai Nielsen
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781552385302
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (853 download)

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Book Synopsis Pessimism of the Intellect, Optimism of the Will by : Kai Nielsen

Download or read book Pessimism of the Intellect, Optimism of the Will written by Kai Nielsen and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Kai Nielsen is one of Canada's most distinguished political philosophers. In a career spanning over 40 years, he has published more than 400 papers in political philosophy, ethics, meta-philosophy, and philosophy of religion. Pessimism of the Intellect presents a thoughtful collection of Nielsen's essays complemented by an extended reflective interview with Nielsen. This collection allows the reader to grasp the systematic scope of his thought and methodology.

The Optimistic Leftist

Author : Ruy Teixeira
Publisher : St. Martin's Press
ISBN 13 : 1250089670
Total Pages : 288 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (5 download)

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Book Synopsis The Optimistic Leftist by : Ruy Teixeira

Download or read book The Optimistic Leftist written by Ruy Teixeira and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2017-03-07 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Advances an analysis that should encourage progressives, be cautionary for conservatives, and engage and enlighten everyone who cares about America's political and economic future." —James Fallows, national correspondent, The Atlantic "A tonic—not because it will make you feel better, although it might, but because he makes a powerful, provocative and persuasive case that progressives are in a better position than they realize to make our world better." —E. J. Dionne Jr., author of Why the Right Went Wrong The words “optimism” and “the left” do not seem to go together very well these days. The dominant view on the left--reinforced by the election of Donald Trump--is as follows: (1) progress in today’s world has largely stopped and in many ways reversed; (2) the left is weak and at the mercy of a rapacious capitalism and a marauding right; and (3) the outlook for the future is bleak, with ordinary citizens suffering even more deprivation and the planet itself sliding inexorably toward catastrophe. But all these propositions are wrong. It is not the case that progress has stopped. Today, we live in a freer, more democratic, less violent and more prosperous world than we ever have before. It is not the case that the left is at the mercy of the right. The form of the left is changing but its numbers are strong and growing. It remains a vital force—the vital force--for reforming capitalism. And it is not the case that the future of humanity is bleak. The problems we face today are solvable and, moreover, are likely to be solved in the coming decades. Life for ordinary citizens should improve dramatically over the course of the 21st century. It is not just that these pessimistic propositions are wrong. They also do real harm to the left by undermining its appeal. Pessimism makes people less likely to believe in positive change, not more likely. It is time for the left to realize that their romance with pessimism is a bug not a feature of their current practice. There is no substitute for optimism and an economic climate that promotes optimism. The time has come, as Ruy Teixeira argues in this book, for the optimistic leftist.

It's Better Than It Looks

Author : Gregg Easterbrook
Publisher : PublicAffairs
ISBN 13 : 1610397428
Total Pages : 413 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (13 download)

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Book Synopsis It's Better Than It Looks by : Gregg Easterbrook

Download or read book It's Better Than It Looks written by Gregg Easterbrook and published by PublicAffairs. This book was released on 2018-02-20 with total page 413 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Is civilization teetering on the edge of a cliff? Or are we just climbing higher than ever? Most people who read the news would tell you that 2017 is one of the worst years in recent memory. We're facing a series of deeply troubling, even existential problems: fascism, terrorism, environmental collapse, racial and economic inequality, and more. Yet this narrative misses something important: by almost every meaningful measure, the modern world is better than it ever has been. In the United States, disease, crime, discrimination, and most forms of pollution are in long-term decline, while longevity and education keep rising and economic indicators are better than in any past generation. Worldwide, malnutrition and extreme poverty are at historic lows, and the risk of dying by war or violence is the lowest in human history. It's not a coincidence that we're confused -- our perspectives on the world are blurred by the rise of social media, the machinations of politicians, and our own biases. Meanwhile, political reforms like the Clean Air Act and technological innovations like the hybridization of wheat have saved huge numbers of lives. In that optimistic spirit, Easterbrook offers specific policy reforms to address climate change, inequality, and other problems, and reminds us that there is real hope in conquering such challenges. In an age of discord and fear-mongering, It's Better Than It Looks will profoundly change your perspective on who we are, where we're headed, and what we're capable of.

The Cruel Optimism of Racial Justice

Author : Nasar Meer
Publisher : Policy Press
ISBN 13 : 1447363027
Total Pages : 198 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (473 download)

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Book Synopsis The Cruel Optimism of Racial Justice by : Nasar Meer

Download or read book The Cruel Optimism of Racial Justice written by Nasar Meer and published by Policy Press. This book was released on 2022-03-22 with total page 198 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What can we learn from successes and failures in the pursuit of racial justice in the UK and elsewhere in the Global North? A dominant view of racial justice has long been linked to a ‘cruel optimism’ which normalises social and political outcomes that sustain racial injustice, despite successive governments wielding the means to address it. Researchers, activists and minoritised groups continually identify the drivers of these outcomes, but have grown accustomed to persevering despite strong resistance to change. Looking at numerous examples across anti-racist movements and key developments in nationhood/nationalism, institutional racism, migration, white supremacy and the disparities of COVID-19, Nasar Meer argues for the need to move on from perpetual crisis in racial justice to a turning point that might herald a change to deep-seated systems of racism.