Why Some Politicians Are More Dangerous Than Others

James Gilligan 지음

Polity 2013년 05월 20일 출간

작품소개

책소개

Politicians and the political process, even in ostensibly democratic countries, can be deadly. James Gilligan has discovered a devastating truth that has been quot;hiding in plain sightquot; for the past century - namely, that when America's conservative party, the Republicans, have gained the presidency, the country has repeatedly suffered from epidemics of violent death. Rates of both suicide and homicide have sky-rocketed. The reasons are all too obvious: rates of every form of social and economic distress, inequality and loss - unemployment, recessions, poverty, bankruptcy, homelessness also ballooned to epidemic proportions. When that has happened, those in the population who were most vulnerable have quot;snappedquot;, with tragic consequences for everyone.These epidemics of lethal violence have then remained at epidemic levels until the more liberal party, the Democrats, regained the White House and dramatically reduced the amount of deadly violence by diminishing the magnitude of the economic distress that had been causing it.This pattern has been documented since 1900, when the US government first began compiling vital statistics on a yearly basis, and yet it has not been noticed by anyone until now except with regard to suicide in the UK and Australia, where a similar pattern has been described. This book is a path-breaking account of a phenomenon that has implications for every country that presumes to call itself democratic, civilized and humane, and for all those citizens, voters and political thinkers who would like to help their country move in that direction.

목차

Acknowledgements viiiIntroduction: Murder Mysteries 11 A Matter of Life and Death 112 What Kind of a Man Are You? 393 Nothing Succeeds Like Failure 514 The Shame of It All 975 Who Wants To Be Redundant? 1176 Red States, Blue States: Honor vs. Guilt 123Conclusion: The Mystery Solved: What Is To Be Done? 155AppendicesHow Accurate and Complete Are the Data? 195Figures and tables 205Bibliography 210Index 219

출판사 서평

"A quirky book that deserves to be taken seriously ... Gilligan's inferences are standing up."New York Review of Books"Gilligan offers far more than a statistical argument. In Republican ideology, dependence is associated with dishonour and shame. Gilligan offers a compelling model of how this ethic triggers intolerable feelings of being discounted, disrespected, or 'dissed' that issue in violence."Times Literary Supplement"Amazingly, until this book appeared nobody had spotted this trend."The Diplomat"By fusing together the scientific rigour of evidence-based medicine with a wealth of theoretical insights from the social sciences, Gilligan&'s book (provides) new and exciting ways of understanding the social and economic determinants of health and&well-being."LSE Politics Blog"Gilligan's book deserves a wide audience. It is inspiring to find a social/behavioral study that may turn out to be of great importance, and one that may also prove useful in furthering investigation of the emotion of shame."Contemporary Psychology"Irrefutable evidence that the politics of the right can actually kill you."Morning Star"If you believe politicians can make a difference then these statistics will confirm your beliefs."Sydney Morning Herald"The Republicans and Conservatives are bad for your health. They should come with the same warning that took years to become emblazoned on cigarette packets. This book goes a long way in working towards that."Tribune"For everyone interested in American politics, this book is a must. It will change the way you think about our two major political parties."George Soros"James Gilligan has given us a new formula for thinking about American politics: smoking is to cancer as republicans are to suicides and

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저자(글) James Gilligan

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James Gilligan is collegiate professor and MD at New York University.