What's more, he shows in compelling prose just how half-hearted democracy engenders class injuries and destructive political resentments. The Two Faces of Political Apathy both poses a powerful challenge to democratic complacency and uncovers the promise of a more generous democratic ethos buried within American culture. This inclusive study examines the extraordinarily high rates of political nonparticipation in the United States and the political, historical, institutional, and philosophical roots of such widespread apathy. The first, rooted in free will, properly places responsibility for nonparticipation in the political process on individuals. The public blames our most disenfranchised citizens for their own disenfranchisement.
Apathetic citizens blame themselves.
DeLuca examines classic and representative explanations of non-participation by political analysts across a range of methodologies and schools of thought. Focusing on their views on the concepts of political power and political participation, he assesses current proposals for reform. It is an ideal book for courses in political democracy and political theory. More than that, he complements his deft probing of theory with a sustained examination of the bearing of power inequalities on nonparticipation, and a brave consideration of the impediments to reform posed by concentrated power. Liberalism, Laissez-faire, and Republic 2.