John Sides
- Published in print:
- 2021
- Published Online:
- May 2022
- ISBN:
- 9781479811595
- eISBN:
- 9781479811618
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9781479811595.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Why might truth be distinctively important in democracies? Long-standing literatures in the scientific study of mass political behavior argue that factual knowledge is central to civic competence, in ...
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Why might truth be distinctively important in democracies? Long-standing literatures in the scientific study of mass political behavior argue that factual knowledge is central to civic competence, in part because citizens' attitudes shape public policy. Thus, democracies should care about the quality of citizens' views, including how well they apprehend factual truths. The bigger debate is thus about what factual truths people should know, not whether they should know them at all.Less
Why might truth be distinctively important in democracies? Long-standing literatures in the scientific study of mass political behavior argue that factual knowledge is central to civic competence, in part because citizens' attitudes shape public policy. Thus, democracies should care about the quality of citizens' views, including how well they apprehend factual truths. The bigger debate is thus about what factual truths people should know, not whether they should know them at all.
