{"product_id":"irrational-publics-and-the-fate-of-democracy-paperback","title":"Irrational Publics and the Fate of Democracy - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eStephen Ward\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAcross cultures, democracies struggle with intolerant groups, misinformation, social media conspiracies, and extreme populists. Egalitarian cultures cannot always withstand this swing towards the irrational. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eIrrational Publics and the Fate of Democracy\u003c\/i\u003e Stephen Ward combines history and evolutionary psychology for a comprehensive view of the problem, arguing that social irrationality is likely to occur when social tensions trigger a person's enemy stance: ancient extreme traits in human nature such as aggressiveness, desire for domination, paranoia of the other, and us-versus-them tribalism. Analyzing eruptions of public irrationality - from apocalyptic medieval crusades and Nazi doctors in extermination camps to suicidal cults - Ward presents his evolutionary theory of public irrationalism, demonstrating that human nature has both extreme Darwinian traits promoting competition and sociable traits of cooperation and empathy. The issue is which set of traits will be activated by the social ecology. Extreme traits, once adaptive when humans were hunter-gatherers, have become maladaptive and dangerous. Catalyzed by intolerant media and demagogues, the swing towards the irrational weakens democracy and may lead to human extinction through nuclear holocaust. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eIrrational Publics and the Fate of Democracy\u003c\/i\u003e concludes with practical recommendations on what society should do to resist the engines of unreason within and without us.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eStephen J.A. Ward is professor emeritus and distinguished lecturer in ethics at the University of British Columbia and award-winning author ot editor of thirteen books on ethics and media ethics, including \u003ci\u003eObjectively Engaged Journalism: An Ethic\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 464\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.2 x 8.7 x 5.9 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e October 15, 2024\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46371077456069,"sku":"9780228020035","price":54.66,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0757\/6718\/5605\/files\/Ps1HRseX-39780228020035.webp?v=1781653067","url":"https:\/\/selloorium.com\/products\/irrational-publics-and-the-fate-of-democracy-paperback","provider":"Selloorium","version":"1.0","type":"link"}