Al Gore - Assault on Reason
Mar 04, 2008 in politics, reading
Great book that critiques the modern day way in which information (and influence) is disseminated to the public. The focus is on the American political system and how this system, anchored in the constitution, is starting to rely on one-way mass marketing techniques, namely the 30 second ad spot. With the movement to mass marketing techniques, Gore suggests that politics is now about raising the funds the reach the audience. This leads to a situation in which politicians are now spending increasing time fund raising and less time making decisions, seeking the right insights and debating the right path forwards. Gore sights the drop in attendance during debates within the Senate. The grotesque fund raising dollars that are needed to be competitive. The multi-million dollar budgets that are need to be competitive on the political platform. Hilary and Barrack are spending up to $1m a day on 30 second ad spots. However, does this communication medium allow for effective communication of complex political positions or is it a branding exercise?
What Gore reveals, albeit a little one-eyed, is that people need to be interested in the political process and allowing ourselves to be part of the mass marketed population does not exclude us from the decisions that our representatives make for us. However, how do we inspire people to take an interest in the liberal democracies of the world?
Worth a read, even for the non US citizens.
NY Times review, or buy it on Amazon