Consumer Democracy

Consumer Democracy

Author: Margaret Scammell

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2014-02-10

Total Pages: 241

ISBN-13: 0521836689

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This book argues that marketing is inherent in competitive democracy, explaining how we can make the consumer nature of competitive democracy better and more democratic. Margaret Scammell argues that consumer democracy should not be assumed to be inherently antithetical to "proper" political discourse and debate about the common good. Instead, Scammell argues that we should seek to understand it - to create marketing-literate criticism that can distinguish between democratically good and bad campaigns, and between shallow, cynical packaging and campaigns that at least aspire to be responsive, engender citizen participation, and enable accountability. Further, we can take important lessons from commercial marketing: enjoyment matters; what citizens think and feel matters; and, just as in commercial markets, structure is key - the type of political marketing will be affected by the conditions of competition.


Book Synopsis Consumer Democracy by : Margaret Scammell

Download or read book Consumer Democracy written by Margaret Scammell and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2014-02-10 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book argues that marketing is inherent in competitive democracy, explaining how we can make the consumer nature of competitive democracy better and more democratic. Margaret Scammell argues that consumer democracy should not be assumed to be inherently antithetical to "proper" political discourse and debate about the common good. Instead, Scammell argues that we should seek to understand it - to create marketing-literate criticism that can distinguish between democratically good and bad campaigns, and between shallow, cynical packaging and campaigns that at least aspire to be responsive, engender citizen participation, and enable accountability. Further, we can take important lessons from commercial marketing: enjoyment matters; what citizens think and feel matters; and, just as in commercial markets, structure is key - the type of political marketing will be affected by the conditions of competition.

Democracy Declined

Democracy Declined

Author: Mallory E. SoRelle

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2020-12-14

Total Pages: 302

ISBN-13: 022671182X

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As Elizabeth Warren memorably wrote, “It is impossible to buy a toaster that has a one-in-five chance of bursting into flames and burning down your house. But it is possible to refinance an existing home with a mortgage that has the same one-in-five chance of putting the family out on the street.” More than a century after the government embraced credit to fuel the American economy, consumer financial protections in the increasingly complex financial system still place the onus on individuals to sift through fine print for assurance that they are not vulnerable to predatory lending and other pitfalls of consumer financing and growing debt. In Democracy Declined, Mallory E. SoRelle argues that the failure of federal policy makers to curb risky practices can be explained by the evolution of consumer finance policies aimed at encouraging easy credit in part by foregoing more stringent regulation. Furthermore, SoRelle explains how angry borrowers’ experiences with these policies teach them to focus their attention primarily on banks and lenders instead of demanding that lawmakers address predatory behavior. As a result, advocacy groups have been mostly unsuccessful in mobilizing borrowers in support of stronger consumer financial protections. The absence of safeguards on consumer financing is particularly dangerous because the consequences extend well beyond harm to individuals—they threaten the stability of entire economies. SoRelle identifies pathways to mitigate these potentially disastrous consequences through greater public participation.


Book Synopsis Democracy Declined by : Mallory E. SoRelle

Download or read book Democracy Declined written by Mallory E. SoRelle and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2020-12-14 with total page 302 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As Elizabeth Warren memorably wrote, “It is impossible to buy a toaster that has a one-in-five chance of bursting into flames and burning down your house. But it is possible to refinance an existing home with a mortgage that has the same one-in-five chance of putting the family out on the street.” More than a century after the government embraced credit to fuel the American economy, consumer financial protections in the increasingly complex financial system still place the onus on individuals to sift through fine print for assurance that they are not vulnerable to predatory lending and other pitfalls of consumer financing and growing debt. In Democracy Declined, Mallory E. SoRelle argues that the failure of federal policy makers to curb risky practices can be explained by the evolution of consumer finance policies aimed at encouraging easy credit in part by foregoing more stringent regulation. Furthermore, SoRelle explains how angry borrowers’ experiences with these policies teach them to focus their attention primarily on banks and lenders instead of demanding that lawmakers address predatory behavior. As a result, advocacy groups have been mostly unsuccessful in mobilizing borrowers in support of stronger consumer financial protections. The absence of safeguards on consumer financing is particularly dangerous because the consequences extend well beyond harm to individuals—they threaten the stability of entire economies. SoRelle identifies pathways to mitigate these potentially disastrous consequences through greater public participation.

Consumer Democracy

Consumer Democracy

Author: Margaret Scammell

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2014-02-10

Total Pages: 241

ISBN-13: 1107651530

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This book argues that marketing is inherent in competitive democracy, explaining how we can make the consumer nature of competitive democracy better and more democratic. Margaret Scammell argues that consumer democracy should not be assumed to be inherently antithetical to 'proper' political discourse and debate about the common good. Instead, Scammell argues that we should seek to understand it - to create marketing-literate criticism that can distinguish between democratically good and bad campaigns, and between shallow, cynical packaging and campaigns that at least aspire to be responsive, engender citizen participation, and enable accountability. Further, we can take important lessons from commercial marketing: enjoyment matters; what citizens think and feel matters; and, just as in commercial markets, structure is key - the type of political marketing will be affected by the conditions of competition.


Book Synopsis Consumer Democracy by : Margaret Scammell

Download or read book Consumer Democracy written by Margaret Scammell and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2014-02-10 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book argues that marketing is inherent in competitive democracy, explaining how we can make the consumer nature of competitive democracy better and more democratic. Margaret Scammell argues that consumer democracy should not be assumed to be inherently antithetical to 'proper' political discourse and debate about the common good. Instead, Scammell argues that we should seek to understand it - to create marketing-literate criticism that can distinguish between democratically good and bad campaigns, and between shallow, cynical packaging and campaigns that at least aspire to be responsive, engender citizen participation, and enable accountability. Further, we can take important lessons from commercial marketing: enjoyment matters; what citizens think and feel matters; and, just as in commercial markets, structure is key - the type of political marketing will be affected by the conditions of competition.

Citizen Brand

Citizen Brand

Author: Marc Gobe

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2006-09-02

Total Pages: 358

ISBN-13: 1621531937

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Leading brand designer Marc Gobé builds on his highly successful Emotional Branding strategy with Citizen Brand, a powerful new concept designed to help companies earn the trust of today's consumers. Gobé argues that corporations need a new vision to survive in the present "emotional economy," challenging them to develop more passionate, human, and socially responsible brand strategies. He shows how to transform Consumers to People, Products to Experiences, Honesty to Trust, Quality to Preference, Identity to Personality, and Service to Relationship.


Book Synopsis Citizen Brand by : Marc Gobe

Download or read book Citizen Brand written by Marc Gobe and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2006-09-02 with total page 358 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Leading brand designer Marc Gobé builds on his highly successful Emotional Branding strategy with Citizen Brand, a powerful new concept designed to help companies earn the trust of today's consumers. Gobé argues that corporations need a new vision to survive in the present "emotional economy," challenging them to develop more passionate, human, and socially responsible brand strategies. He shows how to transform Consumers to People, Products to Experiences, Honesty to Trust, Quality to Preference, Identity to Personality, and Service to Relationship.

The Consumer Citizen

The Consumer Citizen

Author: Ethan Porter

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 2020-11-23

Total Pages: 209

ISBN-13: 0197526780

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"Americans spend far more time thinking about what to buy, and what not to buy, than they do about politics. Political leaders often make political claims while using consumer terminology. And political decisions resemble consumer decisions in surprising ways. Together, these forces help give rise to the consumer-citizen: A person who depends on tools and techniques familiar from consumer life to make sense of politics. Understanding citizens as consumer-citizens has implications for a broad array of topics related to public opinion and political behaviour. More than a dozen new experiments make clear that appealing to the consumer-citizen as consumer-citizen can increase trust in government, improve attitudes toward taxes, and enhance political knowledge. Indeed, such appeals can even cause people to sign up for government-sponsored health insurance. However, the consumer-citizen may also prefer candidates whose policies would explicitly undercut their own self-interest. Two concepts from consumer psychology, consumer fairness and operational transparency, are especially useful for understanding the consumer citizen. Although the rise of the consumer-citizen may trouble democratic theorists, the lessons of the consumer-citizen can be applied to a new approach to civic education, with the aim of enriching democracy and public life"--


Book Synopsis The Consumer Citizen by : Ethan Porter

Download or read book The Consumer Citizen written by Ethan Porter and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2020-11-23 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Americans spend far more time thinking about what to buy, and what not to buy, than they do about politics. Political leaders often make political claims while using consumer terminology. And political decisions resemble consumer decisions in surprising ways. Together, these forces help give rise to the consumer-citizen: A person who depends on tools and techniques familiar from consumer life to make sense of politics. Understanding citizens as consumer-citizens has implications for a broad array of topics related to public opinion and political behaviour. More than a dozen new experiments make clear that appealing to the consumer-citizen as consumer-citizen can increase trust in government, improve attitudes toward taxes, and enhance political knowledge. Indeed, such appeals can even cause people to sign up for government-sponsored health insurance. However, the consumer-citizen may also prefer candidates whose policies would explicitly undercut their own self-interest. Two concepts from consumer psychology, consumer fairness and operational transparency, are especially useful for understanding the consumer citizen. Although the rise of the consumer-citizen may trouble democratic theorists, the lessons of the consumer-citizen can be applied to a new approach to civic education, with the aim of enriching democracy and public life"--

Food Democracy

Food Democracy

Author: Sue Booth

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2015-02-19

Total Pages: 65

ISBN-13: 9812874232

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This book explores the links between food and democracy. It addresses how democratic principles can be used to shape our food system and takes a practical ‘how-to’ approach to using democratic processes to regain control of the food we eat. It also highlights what food democracy looks like on the ground and how individuals, communities and societies can be empowered to access, cook and eat healthy food in ways that are sustainable. Food democracy, as a concept, is a social movement based on the idea that people can and should be able to actively participate in shaping the food system rather than being passive spectators. The book is useful for university and advanced TAFE courses that cover topics examining food in health sciences, social sciences and other areas of study. It is also relevant to health practitioners, nutritionists, food advocates, policy makers and others with a keen interest in exploring an alternative to the industrial food system known as “Big Food.”


Book Synopsis Food Democracy by : Sue Booth

Download or read book Food Democracy written by Sue Booth and published by Springer. This book was released on 2015-02-19 with total page 65 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores the links between food and democracy. It addresses how democratic principles can be used to shape our food system and takes a practical ‘how-to’ approach to using democratic processes to regain control of the food we eat. It also highlights what food democracy looks like on the ground and how individuals, communities and societies can be empowered to access, cook and eat healthy food in ways that are sustainable. Food democracy, as a concept, is a social movement based on the idea that people can and should be able to actively participate in shaping the food system rather than being passive spectators. The book is useful for university and advanced TAFE courses that cover topics examining food in health sciences, social sciences and other areas of study. It is also relevant to health practitioners, nutritionists, food advocates, policy makers and others with a keen interest in exploring an alternative to the industrial food system known as “Big Food.”

Watchdog

Watchdog

Author: Richard Cordray

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2020-02-03

Total Pages: 305

ISBN-13: 0197503012

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Every day across America, consumers face issues with credit cards, mortgages, car loans, and student loans. When they are cheated or mistreated, all too often they hit a brick wall against the financial companies. People are fed up with being run over by big corporations, and few have the resources or expertise to fight back on their own. It is no wonder consumers feel powerless: they are outgunned every step of the way. Since 1970, the financial industry has doubled in size. It is the biggest source of campaign contributions to federal candidates and parties, spending about $1 billion annually on campaigns and another $500 million on lobbying. The four biggest banks each now has more than $1 trillion in assets. Financial products have become a mass of fine print that consumers can hardly even read, let alone understand. Growing problems in the increasingly one-sided finance markets blew up the economy in 2008. In the aftermath, Congress created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Sharing the stories of individual consumers, Watchdog shows how the Bureau quickly became a powerful force for good, suing big banks for cheating or deceiving consumers, putting limits on predatory lenders, simplifying mortgage paperwork, and stepping in to help solve problems raised by individual consumers. It tells a hopeful story of how our system can be reformed by putting government back on the side of the people, to strengthen our families, safeguard the marketplace, and establish a new baseline of fairness in our democratic society.


Book Synopsis Watchdog by : Richard Cordray

Download or read book Watchdog written by Richard Cordray and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2020-02-03 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Every day across America, consumers face issues with credit cards, mortgages, car loans, and student loans. When they are cheated or mistreated, all too often they hit a brick wall against the financial companies. People are fed up with being run over by big corporations, and few have the resources or expertise to fight back on their own. It is no wonder consumers feel powerless: they are outgunned every step of the way. Since 1970, the financial industry has doubled in size. It is the biggest source of campaign contributions to federal candidates and parties, spending about $1 billion annually on campaigns and another $500 million on lobbying. The four biggest banks each now has more than $1 trillion in assets. Financial products have become a mass of fine print that consumers can hardly even read, let alone understand. Growing problems in the increasingly one-sided finance markets blew up the economy in 2008. In the aftermath, Congress created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Sharing the stories of individual consumers, Watchdog shows how the Bureau quickly became a powerful force for good, suing big banks for cheating or deceiving consumers, putting limits on predatory lenders, simplifying mortgage paperwork, and stepping in to help solve problems raised by individual consumers. It tells a hopeful story of how our system can be reformed by putting government back on the side of the people, to strengthen our families, safeguard the marketplace, and establish a new baseline of fairness in our democratic society.

Democracy in Decline?

Democracy in Decline?

Author: Larry Diamond

Publisher: JHU Press

Published: 2015-10

Total Pages: 140

ISBN-13: 1421418185

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"Is Democracy in Decline? is a short book that takes up the fascinating question on whether this once-revolutionary form of government--the bedrock of Western liberalism--is fast disappearing. Has the growth of corporate capitalism, mass economic inequality, and endemic corruption reversed the spread of democracy worldwide? In this incisive collection, leading thinkers address this disturbing and critically important issue. Published as part of the National Endowment for Democracy's 25th anniversary--and drawn from articles forthcoming in the Journal of Democracy--this collection includes seven essays from a stellar group of democracy scholars: Francis Fukuyama, Robert Kagan, Thomas Carothers, Marc Plattner, Larry Diamond, Philippe Schmitter, Steven Levitsky, Ivan Krastev, and Lucan Way. Written in a thought-provoking style from seven different perspectives, this book provides an eye-opening look at how the very foundation of Western political culture may be imperiled"--


Book Synopsis Democracy in Decline? by : Larry Diamond

Download or read book Democracy in Decline? written by Larry Diamond and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 2015-10 with total page 140 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Is Democracy in Decline? is a short book that takes up the fascinating question on whether this once-revolutionary form of government--the bedrock of Western liberalism--is fast disappearing. Has the growth of corporate capitalism, mass economic inequality, and endemic corruption reversed the spread of democracy worldwide? In this incisive collection, leading thinkers address this disturbing and critically important issue. Published as part of the National Endowment for Democracy's 25th anniversary--and drawn from articles forthcoming in the Journal of Democracy--this collection includes seven essays from a stellar group of democracy scholars: Francis Fukuyama, Robert Kagan, Thomas Carothers, Marc Plattner, Larry Diamond, Philippe Schmitter, Steven Levitsky, Ivan Krastev, and Lucan Way. Written in a thought-provoking style from seven different perspectives, this book provides an eye-opening look at how the very foundation of Western political culture may be imperiled"--

The Rational Consumer: Bad for Business and Politics

The Rational Consumer: Bad for Business and Politics

Author: B. Nyamnjoh

Publisher: African Books Collective

Published: 2018-08-07

Total Pages: 162

ISBN-13: 9956550744

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This book discusses the seminal role played by Edward Bernays, a nephew of Sigmund Freud, in the founding of American-style public relations persuasive communication through manipulation of symbols and his huge (and cynical) impact on the American economic and political scene. It provides a substantiated and convincing explanation for what is happening today in Donald Trumps America. In the form of a history of ideas, the book makes clear that the present Trumpian manipulation of democracy and what it means to be American has a long pre-history and continues to go through different phases, involving the cultivation and institutionalisation of strong bonds between business and politics. The book shows how this is intimately linked with a science, intellectualism and practice informed by a series of binary oppositions in human action and interaction (e.g. rationality and irrationality, reason and emotion, mind and body, brain and heart, insider and outsider, us and them) and how unpredictable human nature really is. It makes a convincing argument that being human depends on how successfully we are able to negotiate such apparently contradictory binaries with the intricacies and dynamism of human agency. It is rich and thought provoking and very timely, given the exclusionary politics of fear, anger, hate and nativism we see unfolding not only in the USA but all over the world.


Book Synopsis The Rational Consumer: Bad for Business and Politics by : B. Nyamnjoh

Download or read book The Rational Consumer: Bad for Business and Politics written by B. Nyamnjoh and published by African Books Collective. This book was released on 2018-08-07 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book discusses the seminal role played by Edward Bernays, a nephew of Sigmund Freud, in the founding of American-style public relations persuasive communication through manipulation of symbols and his huge (and cynical) impact on the American economic and political scene. It provides a substantiated and convincing explanation for what is happening today in Donald Trumps America. In the form of a history of ideas, the book makes clear that the present Trumpian manipulation of democracy and what it means to be American has a long pre-history and continues to go through different phases, involving the cultivation and institutionalisation of strong bonds between business and politics. The book shows how this is intimately linked with a science, intellectualism and practice informed by a series of binary oppositions in human action and interaction (e.g. rationality and irrationality, reason and emotion, mind and body, brain and heart, insider and outsider, us and them) and how unpredictable human nature really is. It makes a convincing argument that being human depends on how successfully we are able to negotiate such apparently contradictory binaries with the intricacies and dynamism of human agency. It is rich and thought provoking and very timely, given the exclusionary politics of fear, anger, hate and nativism we see unfolding not only in the USA but all over the world.

A Consumers' Republic

A Consumers' Republic

Author: Lizabeth Cohen

Publisher: Vintage

Published: 2008-12-24

Total Pages: 578

ISBN-13: 0307555364

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In this signal work of history, Bancroft Prize winner and Pulitzer Prize finalist Lizabeth Cohen shows how the pursuit of prosperity after World War II fueled our pervasive consumer mentality and transformed American life. Trumpeted as a means to promote the general welfare, mass consumption quickly outgrew its economic objectives and became synonymous with patriotism, social equality, and the American Dream. Material goods came to embody the promise of America, and the power of consumers to purchase everything from vacuum cleaners to convertibles gave rise to the power of citizens to purchase political influence and effect social change. Yet despite undeniable successes and unprecedented affluence, mass consumption also fostered economic inequality and the fracturing of society along gender, class, and racial lines. In charting the complex legacy of our “Consumers’ Republic” Lizabeth Cohen has written a bold, encompassing, and profoundly influential book.


Book Synopsis A Consumers' Republic by : Lizabeth Cohen

Download or read book A Consumers' Republic written by Lizabeth Cohen and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2008-12-24 with total page 578 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this signal work of history, Bancroft Prize winner and Pulitzer Prize finalist Lizabeth Cohen shows how the pursuit of prosperity after World War II fueled our pervasive consumer mentality and transformed American life. Trumpeted as a means to promote the general welfare, mass consumption quickly outgrew its economic objectives and became synonymous with patriotism, social equality, and the American Dream. Material goods came to embody the promise of America, and the power of consumers to purchase everything from vacuum cleaners to convertibles gave rise to the power of citizens to purchase political influence and effect social change. Yet despite undeniable successes and unprecedented affluence, mass consumption also fostered economic inequality and the fracturing of society along gender, class, and racial lines. In charting the complex legacy of our “Consumers’ Republic” Lizabeth Cohen has written a bold, encompassing, and profoundly influential book.