misnomer: American Political Paradox

October 14, 2002

American Political Paradox

Robert Jensen: The American Political Paradox: More Freedom, Less Democracy (via DailyChurn)

legal protections for freedom of expression have expanded and the culture's commitment to free speech has become more entrenched, which is all to the good. But at the same time, the United States today is a far less vibrant political culture than it was then. This is the paradox to come to terms with: How is it that as formal freedoms that allow democratic participation have expanded, the range and importance of debate and discussion that is essential to democracy has contracted? How is it that in the United States we have arguably the most expansive free speech rights in the industrial world and at the same time an incredibly degraded political culture? How did political freedom produce such a depoliticized culture?

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About

Misnomer is a weblog about the politics of new and old media, foreign policy, tech, culture, philosophy, and photography. It is maintained by Dru Oja Jay, who edits a newspaper called the Dominion. He lives in Mile End, a neighbourhood of Montréal, Québec, which is, in some ways, a part of Canada, which in turn subsists on occupied native land to which Canada doesn't actually hold the title. He also travels a lot.

The Dominion

The Dominion is a newspaper with the aim of promoting decent journalism, annoying the overwhelmingly right wing Canadian press, and being non-profit and democratically accountable. All at once. This newspaper also has its own weblog, where I post often.

Others

Some other folks who contribute to misnomer from time to time include Kendall Clark, John Haney, Amanda Jernigan, Ola Mork, and Sylvia Nickerson.

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