Subscribe to Posts
Subscribe to CommentsIndividual Entry: Whose Freedom
« What the Church Can Learn From Fandom |
Main
| Getting my Mojo Back »
If you read this blog, PLEASE sign in to my guest book on frappr.
No personally identifying information is needed, so this is risk-free. Just provide a name (even a nickname), your zip code, and any statement you want to make ("hi" is sufficient).If you want to know more about me, click here.
September 06, 2006
Books : Whose Freedom
Whose Freedom?
By George Lakoff
Short Version: a "must read" for anyone who wants to engage in discourse on American politics.
Long Version:
In America, both blue-state folks ("Progressives", "Liberals") and red-state folks ("Conservatives") claims that their policies and actions serve to defend "Freedom". Further, as you hear them speak it becomes apparent that each side views the other side's claims of being "for freedom" as hypocritical at best and deliberately deceptive at worst.
Lakoff (a respected cognitive scientist and linguist) has written the book "Whose Freedom" to propose a somewhat different position – that they are both right. Both are staunch defenders of Freedom – as they understand the definition of "Freedom". The problem is that they are honestly and sincerely using two different definitions of Freedom, and that a lack of understanding of the complexities of what it means to be "free" underlies much of the miscommunication and rancor in American politics.
The first third of the book is a very thorough, rational, and unbiased analysis of why, while freedom seems like a simple an obvious concept, the application of freedom to society can result in many shades of meaning (not just the two most often represented in American politics; but many others as well). He starts with defining "Simple Freedom" – those core concepts everyone agrees on; but then shows how small differences in how people interpret individual words in those definitions can lead people to apply those common ideas differently to real world situations.
The second third of the book is a detailed analysis of the meanings of "Freedom" as the word is used by modern American progressives and conservatives. There are examples where the policies of each group appear to be inconsistent; but Lakoff proposes that each group is guided by a simple vision of the structure of society, and that their definitions of Freedom and the policies which come from it are all completely consistent and predictable in the context of that vision. I should note here that throughout the book, Lakoff is clear that he considers himself a progressive; but in these first two thirds of the book he tries to be unbiased in his presentation. In my opinion he is more successful in this regard in the first third than the second, where I noticed a half dozen times where the presentation demonstrated his personal bias. That however is a minority of the content - most of it remains unbiased.
The final section of the book is essentially Lakoff's (now quite biased) suggestions for what progressives need to do to get their vision of America understood and appreciated by the electorate, starting with an analysis of why conservatives have been so successful at communicating their idea of Freedom for the last thirty years. Much of this section draws upon Lakoff's expertise as a cognitive scientist – understanding how people receive and process information, understanding the role of "frames" and "metaphors" in communication. The proposals are well thought out and grounded in science.
For me, the middle part of the book was the most fascinating. I have long known that my own political views do not match those espoused by the major political parties here; but the book has both helped me understand why that is the true, and in some cases helped me clarify my own opinions and reasoning. Furthermore, it has provided a means for me to translate the political rhetoric of both parties into terms which I find easier to evaluate.
However, even for those of more orthodox political views – both progressives and conservatives, I strongly recommend this book. Too often these days political discourse is dominated by people talking past each other, largely because people don't actually understand the other side's point of view. This book is a good start at correcting those misunderstandings.
Posted by Steven at September 6, 2006 03:38 PM
