http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/guernsey...00/8607664.stm
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisf...-voting-apathy
Two articles above show the level of apathy that is so prominent in Europe and a malaise that has hit Ireland hard. In the first a number of people in Guernsey were asked about local politics and out of those asked a good proportion showed a high level of ignorance. The second article is more or less a piece on why young people are indifferent to politics. From reading the article its almost easy to assume that they dont vote as its seen as being boring ? Its a daming indictment that people like vacous celebreties have more sway over my generation than the political establishment. What explains this level of apathy though?
While researching last night I came across the following thesis from the University of Southamptonhttp://www.psa.ac.uk/journals/pdf/5/2012/353_25.pdf
The main reasons from what I can gather are for political apathy is
-People being content with their current situation.
Well the establishment and the upper class (bourgoise?) are not going to rock the boat. They know they have it made on the back fo the Celtic Tiger.
-Generational Gap
Society is somehow disconnected. There is a lack of communication between the generations, between the workers and others on the fringes and peripheral of society.
-Modernisation
People who are willing to challenge the elite but are not guided by the elite. These people are materialistic and often there is more a case of looking after the individual. This is a particular issue especially after the Celtic Tiger ended and we all ended up fighting . Very little humanity left.
-New style of politics
There is a shift away from the ballot box and a move to things like petitions. This is not getting involved however.
Lastly there seems to be a view that politics is something of the upper echelons of society, it does not seem to be something involving the lower strata of society and seems to be reinforced here in Ireland today. FF/FG and and their preference for the business calass while Labour seem to be mopping up the local liberal vote and slapping the face off those on welfare (I mean how further from the working class can they get with that?).
All of this has fractured democracy, how do we repair it?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisf...-voting-apathy
Two articles above show the level of apathy that is so prominent in Europe and a malaise that has hit Ireland hard. In the first a number of people in Guernsey were asked about local politics and out of those asked a good proportion showed a high level of ignorance. The second article is more or less a piece on why young people are indifferent to politics. From reading the article its almost easy to assume that they dont vote as its seen as being boring ? Its a daming indictment that people like vacous celebreties have more sway over my generation than the political establishment. What explains this level of apathy though?
While researching last night I came across the following thesis from the University of Southamptonhttp://www.psa.ac.uk/journals/pdf/5/2012/353_25.pdf
The main reasons from what I can gather are for political apathy is
-People being content with their current situation.
Well the establishment and the upper class (bourgoise?) are not going to rock the boat. They know they have it made on the back fo the Celtic Tiger.
-Generational Gap
Society is somehow disconnected. There is a lack of communication between the generations, between the workers and others on the fringes and peripheral of society.
-Modernisation
People who are willing to challenge the elite but are not guided by the elite. These people are materialistic and often there is more a case of looking after the individual. This is a particular issue especially after the Celtic Tiger ended and we all ended up fighting . Very little humanity left.
-New style of politics
There is a shift away from the ballot box and a move to things like petitions. This is not getting involved however.
Lastly there seems to be a view that politics is something of the upper echelons of society, it does not seem to be something involving the lower strata of society and seems to be reinforced here in Ireland today. FF/FG and and their preference for the business calass while Labour seem to be mopping up the local liberal vote and slapping the face off those on welfare (I mean how further from the working class can they get with that?).
All of this has fractured democracy, how do we repair it?
A good book related to the above is: The Seventh Enemy by Ronald Higgins.
ReplyDeleteThe Blurb says:
"This guy's name sounds like a bureaucrat, and in fact he was a career diplomat in the British Foreign Office. Don't be put off by that - he has a very easy-to-read style. He writes from first-hand observation of many of the personal foibles, cockups and bureaucrap which have shaped the history of the twentieth century. If you can't understand why people can't just sit down and resolve their differences like sensible adults, read this book. Higgins won't tell you why, either, but he will explain in excruciating detail just how the individual and collective personalities of people (in power and not) have affected some of the major diplomatic crises of the last fifty years. "
http://books.google.ie/books/about/The_Seventh_Enemy.html?id=_6u6QAAACAAJ&redir_esc=y
It was written in 1978 and marks Apathy as the Seventh Enemy. I remember reading the book a few times and, for some reason, thought it was written by Dervla Murphy ... but Google sorted that out for me!!
Is there any way of putting books on my kindle from google books?
ReplyDelete