Respect and loathing in American democracy : polarization, moralization, and the undermining of equality / Jeff Spinner-Halev and Elizabeth Theiss-Morse.
| Author/creator | Spinner-Halev, Jeff author. |
| Other author | Theiss-Morse, Elizabeth, author. |
| Format | Book |
| Publication | Chicago : The University of Chicago Press, 2024. |
| Description | xi, 253 pages ; 24 cm. |
| Subjects |
| Portion of title | Polarization, moralization, and the undermining of equality |
| Series | Chicago studies in American politics Chicago studies in American politics. ^A786748 |
| Contents | Part I. Respect: The Challenge of Democracy and Equality -- Democratic Equality and the Importance of Respect -- Is It Possible to Respect Opposing Partisans? -- The Failed Aspirations of Civic Respect -- Part II. Loathing: Why Is Respect So Hard to Grant? -- The Social Justice Worldview and Moralization -- The National Solidarity Worldview and Moralization -- Collective Responsibility and Judging Others -- Part III. Democracy: The Importance of Saving Respect -- Respect versus Justice? -- Struggling toward Respect. |
| Abstract | "Respect is in trouble in American politics. Many Americans think that respecting other citizens is a virtue of a democratic society, yet many struggle to respect opposing partisans. It is especially liberal citizens, who hold respect as central to their robust view of democratic equality, who struggle the most granting respect to others. In Respect and Loathing in American Democracy, political theorist Jeff Spinner-Halev and political psychologist Elizabeth Theiss-Morse team up to explain why respect is important to democracy and yet so lacking in contemporary US politics. Drawing on evidence from extensive focus groups, national surveys, survey experiments, and the views of political theorists, Spinner-Halev and Theiss-Morse develop a theoretical framework that places respect squarely in the context of a polarized United States. They elucidate how clashing, moralized worldviews undergird partisan conflict and shape its character and intensity. The authors argue that liberals and conservatives are less divided on issues than many believe, but they are divided on which issues they moralize. That liberals moralize their social justice worldview and conservatives their national solidarity worldview makes it hard for them to grant respect to each other, despite so many people believing in the importance of respect. The authors differentiate between two types of respect and distinguish respect from tolerance. Respect is both far reaching and difficult to give in ways that many citizens and theorists fail to recognize. Deep-seated tension exists between respect and justice, and political theorists and citizens alike need to acknowledge that tension. Spinner-Halev and Theiss-Morse argue that respect is connected to pluralism, and propose a possible path forward that is challenging but far from impossible for scholars and citizens to traverse"-- Provided by publisher. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| LCCN | 2023037209 |
| ISBN | 9780226831732 |
| ISBN | 9780226831718 (cloth) |
| ISBN | 022683171X |
| ISBN | 0226831736 |
| ISBN | (ebook) |
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