Data Ideologies, Lesson Children, Quotable Quotes, Placebo Physicians, Ignoratio Elenchi, Red Herring, Individual Not Movements, Fallaciously Parallel Example, Limitation Of Lerner’s Thesis

Data Ideologies, Lesson Children, Quotable Quotes, Placebo Physicians, Ignoratio Elenchi, Red Herring, Individual Not Movements, Fallaciously Parallel Example, Limitation Of Lerner’s  Thesis By Dr. Sohail Ansari

Conceived and worded by DR Sohail Ansari (originality of concepts and originality of words).

He believes that there can never be a zero scope for improvement and appreciates criticism if it is not for the sake of criticism.

The disadvantage of a good memory is that you can not enjoy several times the same good things for the first time.

Ideologies are data if

·        All philosophers subscribe to relative truth: truth is made up solely of the data presented by the real factual thinking. Truth if means a fact susceptible of empirical evaluation, then it means not of a hierarchy of truths, but of one dimensional truths. Refusal to regard truth-value of ideologies by anything except by empirical terms reduces ideologies to data: something to be studied ‘from without only’

A Lesson children teach

·        Children seem fussy and enmeshed in the myriad trivial details we grown-ups feel unimportant. Their interests seem commonplace; and their singing praise of the most mundane things sound ludicrous to us. Children are the master at finding joy in life’s details; simpler time of childhood shows us how to fill life with a host of things to take delight in small, every day pleasure. Children teach us that ‘happiness is never a given. It is worked at, created’. Once we grown-ups understand it, we never feel sorry for ourselves. We never wallow in self pity even after years of diminishing success.                            

Quotable Quotes

·        In autocratic dispensation, education develops autonomously; it tends not to be mirror of society and not seldom at the cutting edge of political developments.

·        He who praises you all the time does not praise you anytime.

·        Smile must be an automatic response not a conscious choice for the man of marketing.

·        ‘It requires wisdom to understand wisdom’; the music is nothing if the audience is deaf.’ Analogy is extended to a point of absurdity as the failure to enjoy music has unlike the failure to understand wisdom has no consequences.

·        Political marketing consultant is judicious enough to know ‘Truth is tough. It will not break, like a bubble, at a touch. Nay, you may kick it about all day, and it will be round and full at evening.’ He, therefore, simply kicks it far away; so once out of sight, it will soon be out of mind.

·        Doing the right thing is an art; work of every honest skilled person is the masterpiece.

·        Every politician is a great listener; he listens to insert ‘now listen to me…’

Physicians are Placebo

·        Watch one wears does make one different; one behaves dashingly confident because of the feelings advertising induces regarding the watch. Physicians only become successful by becoming placebo; all they need to apply the art of infusing patent with the hope of recovery and that ultimately recovers patient.                                 

Ignoratio elenchi

(Proving some one wrong does not make one right; political marketing consultant applies Ignoratio elenchi: he does not prove that his candidate has credentials; he proves that he has by proving that opponent does not have.)

Red herring

(Diversion of digression is in play as the verbal tactic. Unrelated topic is introduced to divert a process of enquiry. Political marketing consultant hides darker implication so that answer given in reply to a questioner seems to be not going beyond an innocent logical irrelevance.)

Individual not movements

·        Decadence can not be changed into renaissance by the movements which bear the character of the experiences of the crowd, never anything but reactions to external happenings. A new tone of mind produced by new spiritual ethical ideas independent of the one prevalent among the crowd and in opposition to it can ultimately saves  society from the slough of barbarism and in the end determine its character for a new beginning.

Statement

·        A war, even if fought for individual liberty and democratic rights usually requires that these principles be suspended for they are incompatible with the regimentation and discipline necessary for military efficiency. 

Fallaciously parallel example

·        Invalid can recuperate if he abstains from things he craves.

LIMITATION OF LERNER’S THESIS:

1st:    Lerner did not take into account the difference between:

      (a)  Urbanization in democratic state.

(b)  Urbanization in authoritarian state.

These two urbanizations are two different urbanizations and to say that ‘the urbanization promote democratic culture’ is not the case in all cases as Wittifogel  says: “Lerner argues that the transition from rural to urban forms of society leads, independently of the respective socio –historical context, to the rise of democratic culture. The thesis underlying the operationlizing of urbanization is valid, to be sure, for the ‘Occidental socio-cultural area’. But it does not hold true for hydraulic societies (Oriental despotisms, Asiatic traditional societies) in which cities consistently have the character of administration and garrison towns”

2^nd:              Learner in proving that urbanization leads to rise in literacy and that rise reflects in increased political participation; did not take into account the difference among three different literacies:

(1)  High literacy of autocratic states.

(2)  Low literacy of democratic state.

(3)  High literacy of democratic western states.

 These differences could be understood by making one important distinction between political literacy and literacy.

Political literacy is the awareness about one’s democratic rights and literacy is the knowledge of physical world (science) people in society (social science) and the way people think and behave(humanities).

Political literacy and literacy are not mutually exclusive but not necessarily synonymous either. Education reinforces system and if system is democratic it will promote democratic value; therefore, it is right to say urbanization increases literacy and increase in education would promote democracy. But increase in literacy may keep political participation at same level or more possibly decrease it if system is authoritarian.

Education of autocratic state will be tailored to ensuring political participation to the best possible minimum level by apoliticizing population. Literacy can’t bring democracy; (though its presence can improve existent democracy) if it were the case, India with the far lower literacy rate would not be democratic state and former Soviet Union which competed with U.S.A in every branch of knowledge , would not be  totalitarian one having population unable to think in political terms Lerner’ thesis is limited to urbanization of Western democratic countries of high literacy rate, urbanization results in higher literacy rate, and consequent increase in political participation; but regarding urbanization of democratic country having low literacy rate, the inadequacy of his thesis is obvious: “ to be sure , the transitional individual” accounts for the a high consumption of mass media. But as a rule this individual can not read, so a question becomes: “What will a society look like which is dominated by such “post-literate” types?” in other words, whether matter can come at all to Lerner’s postulation of a Westernization of the developing countries. In essence, Lerner argues as Herbert Spencer or Spencer’s antipode Karl Marx did before him. For both Spencer and Marx saw in England the model example of the globally-evolving development of capitalism. Lerner simply replaced England with the west in its entirety as the advance guard of a supposedly globally proceeding modernization.”

Urbanization in democratic state of low literacy rate (immediately) would not result insignificant surge in formal literacy as the poor inhabitants of poor state find access limited to limited institutions of formal education. However, higher consumption of media would inevitably be result, translating into increased political participation. 

No doubt the direct consumption of print media is not possible without rise in literacy (institutionalized education), but it does limit only obtaining the first hand knowledge than obliterating the influence of media altogether as the educated people are far greater in urban setting and act as a conduit for information__ a sort of surrogate media. Furthermore, much education in cities is informal and possibly television is the greatest non institutionalized educator whose access is unlimited.

The degree of the influence of political messages will differ but not determined only by formal literacy. Furthermore, it would be impossible to state as no study so far is conducted to determine the extent of formal literacy required to understand political messages; but it can safely be assumed that political messages light on text , placing much of information on denotative or pictorial  level do not require high level of formal literacy.

Reductions of illiteracy can promote political participation if system is democratic; education in authoritarian system would, if not decrease, maintain political apathy of masses; more and more education, less and less political participation would most likely be result.

Rise in formal literacy increases consumption of media but if media is directed to cementing undemocratic orientation of people; more consumption will result in more undemocratic attitude.

The collapse of communism is largely studied from economic perspective, the role of indigenous education and media in brining democracy to former communist states was not possible as the highly ideologized education and strictly controlled media of communist states always bolstered up dictatorship; though informal education had its role. Steven Ross(1991), Chair of Time Warner Incorporated, argued in Global Village that the trend toward democracy evident in Red Square, Berlin, Bucharest, and Budapest, and Beijing was caused , at least in part, by the exporting of the American Dream overseas. Said Ross:  “Media and entertainment have acquired a dramatic level of power and influence that has not been felt since the invention of the printing press, although the oppressive regime of Eastern Europe kept a closer watch on news, most were quite lenient about the entertainment programs that were imported or spilled over their borders from USA or other democracies. As the result, their residents were exposed to vivid portrayals of people with life styles and possessions that were not available to them, a situation that cause economic and later political unrest”  This informal education was spilled not generated from within as the education and media was too controlled to be the developer of democratic leanings. In case democracy exists, but democratization of scenario does not reflect in education and media; coverage of political process and occurrence of elections in themselves hold great educational (informal) value in promoting the culture of democracy. 

Election campaigns are understand in terms of the struggle by different parties to win election but it has another equally important function and that is to remind people of their power to choose or reject. This empowerment of people is the most important for the growth of political marketing.

Political marketing which is a weapon of election communication rises and falls with democracy. Non occurrence of elections or absence of democratic process renders urban population apolitical and even absolutely free media into forum for ventilating social and cultural problems because elections coverage and the program like debates between candidates, group discussion to critique the performance or size up candidate are only possible when there is political process.

3^rd:          Another obvious limitation of Lerner’s thesis lies in assuming that rise in per capita income is always interrelated with rise in economic participation in political process.

Economic independence is fulfillment of needs independently of others and that would always result in rise in economic power, but not always that economic power would translate into political power.  Rise in per capita income would always result in economic independence but not always in political economic independence. If rise in income occurs in democratic countries, political power of commoner increases; but no difference it would make if rise in income occurs in dictatorship as Putin presided over the phenomenal expansion of economy but deprived the economic freedom of his people: no businessman can dare to back his opponent.  One poor democratic country can not be equal to rich USA in money spent in financing election campaign or parties of their choice; but it can definitely be equal in doing same__ though to much smaller scale. Poor state can be democratic even it has low literacy and low per capita income and state can be autocratic even it has high literacy  and high per capita income.