Effective citizenship how we can make the world better and why we don't Jonathan Baron

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Baron, Jonathan, 1944- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Citizenship.

Political participation.

Political psychology.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Place of Publication:

New York, NY Oxford University Press [2026]

Summary:

"Many serious problems affecting nations, regions, and the planet are the result of bad government or the lack of any relevant government: populism leads to unsustainable budgets; nationalism and other sorts of out-group devaluation lead to destructive conflicts and neglect of the benefits of cooperation; Quasi-religious, essentialist, and moralistic doctrines reinforce laws and practices that result in persecution of minorities; world environmental and health problems that demand cooperation are neglected. These harmful policies depend on the support of large numbers of citizens. Many citizens do not think well about political issues or how they use the little power they have individually. They accept parochial and moralistic principles without serious examination. They accept fallacious arguments and exhibit other biases. These problems can be reduced by actively open-minded thinking (AOT), which also helps in evaluating policies and information sources. AOT involves testing possible conclusions by looking for arguments against them, and avoiding unjustified high confidence. Effective citizens (who actually exist) have the virtues of cosmopolitanism (universal beneficence), anti-moralism, and acceptance of AOT as a standard. Effective citizenship is consistent with a version of utilitarianism that takes our motivation as a fact that limits what we could do"-- Oxford Academic

Contents:

Social norms for citizenship

General psychological biases as counter-norms

Deontology and the role of fallacious reasoning

Self-interest vs. altruistic motivation

Voting and charity

Heuristics and biases in charity and voting

Beyond voting

Parochialism and nationalism

Moralism, paternalism, manipulation, freedom

Functions of government

Education

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index

Online resource; title from home page (Oxford Academic, viewed October 1, 2026)

Other Format:

Print version Baron, Jonathan, 1944- Effective citizenship

ISBN:

0197847412

9780197847411

OCLC:

1572979803

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license