Collective Political Rationality

Partisan Thinking and Why It's Not All Bad

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science, Politics, Practical Politics, Social Science
Cover of the book Collective Political Rationality by Gregory E. McAvoy, Taylor and Francis
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Gregory E. McAvoy ISBN: 9781317504641
Publisher: Taylor and Francis Publication: May 15, 2015
Imprint: Routledge Language: English
Author: Gregory E. McAvoy
ISBN: 9781317504641
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Publication: May 15, 2015
Imprint: Routledge
Language: English

Amidst the polarization of contemporary politics, partisan loyalties among citizens are regarded as one contributor to political stalemate. Partisan loyalties lead Democrats and Republicans to look at the same economic information but to come to strikingly different conclusions about the state of the economy and the performance of the president in managing it. As a result, many observers argue that democratic politics would work better if citizens would shed their party loyalty and more dispassionately assess political and economic news.

In this book, Gregory E. McAvoy argues—contra this conventional wisdom; that partisanship is a necessary feature of modern politics, making it feasible for citizens to make some sense of the vast number of issues that make their way onto the political agenda. Using unique data, he shows that the biases and distortions that partisanship introduces to collective opinion are real, but despite them, collective opinion changes meaningfully in response to economic and political news. In a comparison of the public’s assessment of the economy to those of economic experts, he finds a close correspondence between the two over time, and that in modern democracies an informed public will also necessarily be partisan.

Modernizing the study of collective opinion, McAvoy's book is essential reading for scholars of American Public Opinion and Political Behavior.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Amidst the polarization of contemporary politics, partisan loyalties among citizens are regarded as one contributor to political stalemate. Partisan loyalties lead Democrats and Republicans to look at the same economic information but to come to strikingly different conclusions about the state of the economy and the performance of the president in managing it. As a result, many observers argue that democratic politics would work better if citizens would shed their party loyalty and more dispassionately assess political and economic news.

In this book, Gregory E. McAvoy argues—contra this conventional wisdom; that partisanship is a necessary feature of modern politics, making it feasible for citizens to make some sense of the vast number of issues that make their way onto the political agenda. Using unique data, he shows that the biases and distortions that partisanship introduces to collective opinion are real, but despite them, collective opinion changes meaningfully in response to economic and political news. In a comparison of the public’s assessment of the economy to those of economic experts, he finds a close correspondence between the two over time, and that in modern democracies an informed public will also necessarily be partisan.

Modernizing the study of collective opinion, McAvoy's book is essential reading for scholars of American Public Opinion and Political Behavior.

More books from Taylor and Francis

Cover of the book Handbook of Latin American Literature (Routledge Revivals) by Gregory E. McAvoy
Cover of the book Japan's Foreign Aid by Gregory E. McAvoy
Cover of the book Beginning Criminal Law by Gregory E. McAvoy
Cover of the book Theater and Cultural Politics for a New World by Gregory E. McAvoy
Cover of the book China and the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands Dispute by Gregory E. McAvoy
Cover of the book An Analysis of Credit and Equilibrium Credit Rationing by Gregory E. McAvoy
Cover of the book The Rohingya in South Asia by Gregory E. McAvoy
Cover of the book Sensory Research by Gregory E. McAvoy
Cover of the book Science, Reason and Religion by Gregory E. McAvoy
Cover of the book Complicated Grief by Gregory E. McAvoy
Cover of the book Vicarious Consumers by Gregory E. McAvoy
Cover of the book Byzantine Warfare by Gregory E. McAvoy
Cover of the book Managing Vulnerability by Gregory E. McAvoy
Cover of the book Consumer Education (RLE Consumer Behaviour) by Gregory E. McAvoy
Cover of the book Changing The Subject by Gregory E. McAvoy
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy