One nation, two realities : dueling facts in American democracy / Morgan Marietta and David C. Barker.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Marietta, Morgan, author.

Barker, David C. (David Christopher), 1969- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Communication in politics.

Facts (Philosophy)--Political aspects.

Facts (Philosophy).

Public opinion--Political aspects.

Public opinion.

Political psychology--United States.

Political psychology.

Politics and government--Public opinion.

Politics and government.

United States--Politics and government--21st century--Public opinion.

United States.

Physical Description:

xvi, 340 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2019]

Summary:

The deep divides that define politics in the United States are not restricted to policy or even cultural differences anymore. Americans no longer agree on basic questions of fact. Is climate change real? Does racism still determine who gets ahead? Is sexual orientation innate? Do immigration and free trade help or hurt the economy? Does gun control reduce violence? Are false convictions common? Employing several years of original survey data and experiments, Marietta and Barker reach a number of enlightening and provocative conclusions: dueling fact perceptions are not so much a product of hyper-partisanship or media propaganda as they are of simple value differences and deepening distrust of authorities. These duels foster social contempt, even in the workplace, and they warp the electorate. The educated - on both the right and the left - carry the biggest guns and are the quickest to draw. And finally, fact-checking and other proposed remedies don't seem to holster too many weapons; they can even add bullets to the chamber. Marietta and Barker's pessimistic conclusions will challenge idealistic reformers.

The deep divides that define politics in the United States are not restricted to policy or even cultural differences anymore. Americans no longer agree on basic questions of fact. Is climate change real? Does racism still determine who gets ahead? Is sexual orientation innate? Do immigration and free trade help or hurt the economy? Does gun control reduce violence? Are false convictions common?0Employing several years of original survey data and experiments, Marietta and Barker reach a number of enlightening and provocative conclusions: dueling fact perceptions are not so much a product of hyper-partisanship or media propaganda as they are of simple value differences and deepening distrust of authorities. These duels foster social contempt, even in the workplace, and they warp the electorate. The educated - on both the right and the left - carry the biggest guns and are the quickest to draw. And finally, fact-checking and other proposed remedies don't seem to holster too many weapons; they can even add bullets to the chamber. Marietta and Barker's pessimistic conclusions will challenge idealistic reformers.

Contents:

Part I. Concepts

What smarter people have said about facts: philosophical and psychological foundations

Dueling facts in political science

Dueling facts in American politics

Part II. Causes

Your facts or mine? The psychology of fact perceptions

The psychology of fact perceptions II: value projection

Polarized leaders versus polarized values

A theory of intuitive epistemology

The roots of certainty: sacred values and sacred facts

Part III. Consequences

The democratic consequences of dueling facts

Disdain and disengagement: the social and professional consequences of dueling fact perceptions

Part IV. Correctives

Political knowledge and fractured perceptions: education is not the answer

Let facts be submitted to a candid world: fact-checking as a potential solution

Citizen responses to fact-checking

Symmetry, asymmetry, and durability

Part V. Conclusion

Conclusion: facts and values, knowledge and democracy.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 309-335) and index.

ISBN:

9780190677176

0190677171

OCLC:

1050456736