Latest news with #debate
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Don't Talk About Politics by Sarah Stein Lubrano: Believe it or not, debates don't change minds
Don't Talk About Politics by Sarah Stein Lubrano (Bloomsbury Continuum £18.99, 288pp) Is democracy dying? In many countries, as Sarah Stein Lubrano points out in her thought-provoking debut work, 'trust in society and interest in politics have hit a nadir'. Many areas of public life seem broken but we do not trust our politicians to mend them. The fundamental problem, she argues, is that we cling to the notion that just talking about politics can change people's minds. Most of us persist in believing in two myths about how political thinking works. The first is the myth of the 'marketplace of ideas'. Allow people to encounter the widest range of ideas and the best will inevitably rise to the top. This was a doubtful proposition at any time but, in the era of Donald Trump and Elon Musk, it seems increasingly absurd. Musk has said that he sees X as 'the digital town square' where people can gather for discussion. In what Lubrano wittily describes as an 'age of digital screaming', using X doesn't seem like a rational exchange of views. More often, it 'feels as if the worst guy at the party has trapped everyone else in a one-sided, unending conversation'. The other myth Lubrano endeavours to demolish – with much success – is that debate is effective in changing people's minds. Particularly political debate. With many politicians, the more they speak, the less we like them – and the less likely we are to agree with them. Research suggests voters enjoy the spectacle and drama of debates but that they don't influence their personal beliefs in any significant way. If debate is largely ineffective, what does work to influence our beliefs? Alarmingly, it seems that many people will change their minds to avoid thinking too rationally. Before Trump was found guilty of falsifying business records last year, only 17 per cent of Republican voters believed that felons should be able to be elected president; after his conviction, the number shot up to 58 per cent. To reconcile two contradictory beliefs (that felons shouldn't be president, but the felon Donald Trump should), large numbers simply changed their minds. Happily, Lubrano has more encouraging thoughts about how people can be persuaded to think differently on important subjects. Actions can speak so much louder than words. Abstract debate about climate change is unlikely to change opinions; providing incentives to install solar panels might well convert sceptics. Hectoring people about how bad cars are for the environment will merely antagonise them; give them other feasible options to get to work and they might leave their cars at home. Politicians can't reach people with words alone. As she puts it: 'If you want to change people's minds, you must change their lives.'
South China Morning Post
2 days ago
- General
- South China Morning Post
South Korean presidential candidate apologises for misogynistic remark at TV debate
A South Korean presidential candidate has apologised for a sexually explicit comment made during a recent televised debate, in which he asked if sticking chopsticks in women's genitals was misogyny. Advertisement Lee Jun-seok, who leads the minor Reform Party, drew widespread backlash from the public and across the political spectrum for the controversial remark on Tuesday. The 40-year-old initially doubled down on his remark on Facebook early on Wednesday, before issuing an apology later in the day while speaking to reporters after a campaign stop in Seoul. 'I was aware that some members of the public might have found it uncomfortable, and I sincerely apologise to them,' Lee said, according to Korea JoongAng Daily. South Korea's presidential candidates (from left) Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party, Kwon Young-kook of the Democratic Labour Party, Kim Moon-soo of the People Power Party and Lee Jun-seok of the Reform Party. Photo: Kyodo, Pool via AP During the final round of Tuesday night's live debate, Lee had posed a question to Kwon Young-kook – presidential candidate for the Korean Democratic Labour Party – asking, 'If someone says they want to stick chopsticks into a woman's genitals or some place like that, is that misogyny?'
News.com.au
2 days ago
- Politics
- News.com.au
‘QLD's weakness' – Leniu kick-off debate
NRL: The NRL 360 panel debated whether or not Queensland showed weakness in the State of Origin series opener by not kicking off to Spencer Leniu.
Washington Post
3 days ago
- General
- Washington Post
South Korean presidential election roiled by coffee beans, Chanel bags and room salon
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea's presidential race has devolved into personal attacks and petty disputes, drowning out meaningful policy debate after former conservative leader Yoon Suk Yeol's ouster over his martial law fiasco. The bitter mudslinging between liberal frontrunner Lee Jae-myung and conservative opponent Kim Moon Soo escalated during Tuesday night's final presidential debate, with Lee branding Kim 'Yoon Suk Yeol's avatar' and Kim denouncing Lee as a 'harbinger of monster politics and dictatorship.'
The Independent
3 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
‘Pathetic' Nigel Farage is ‘Margaret Thatcher tribute act', Scottish Labour leader says amid row over Reform ad
The row between Nigel Farage and the Scottish Labour leader has intensified, as Anas Sarwar branded the Reform UK leader a 'clown' and a 'pathetic little man'. Mr Sarwar also made clear he would be willing to debate Mr Farage – who he also described as a ' Margaret Thatcher tribute act' – 'anytime, any place'. He said the Clacton MP did not know about, or care for, the people of Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, ahead of a by-election in the seat next week. 'He thinks Hamilton is some kind of show on the West End of London,' Mr Sarwar said. It comes amid a furore among political parties in Scotland over a Reform UK advert that claimed Mr Sarwar would 'prioritise' the Pakistani community. Labour has described the ad as 'blatantly racist'. The ad – which the SNP and Labour have demanded be removed by Meta – shows clips of Mr Sarwar calling for more representation of Scots with south Asian heritage, although he did not say he would prioritise any one group. On Tuesday, Mr Farage defended the ad, playing it at a press conference that was streamed live by several national broadcasters. During the event in London, he accused Mr Sarwar of having 'introduced sectarianism into Scottish politics'. Speaking on a visit to Hamilton on Wednesday, Mr Sarwar told the PA news agency he is confident voters in the area will reject Reform. He said: 'For anyone that knows the history of Scotland and the history of the west of Scotland, for Nigel Farage to claim that a guy that was born in 1983 brought sectarianism to Scotland demonstrates how little he knows about Scotland, how little he knows about the west of Scotland. 'The reality is this is just a pathetic little man, hungry for attention, trying to bring his brand of divisive politics and hate into Scotland. 'I'm utterly convinced that the people of Scotland will reject him because they'll see through him for what he actually is.' The Scottish Labour leader invited Mr Farage to a debate in the constituency, adding: 'He thinks Hamilton is some kind of show on the West End of London. 'He's got no idea where we are here. I've been here most days of the week – he has no idea what it is. 'I suggest that he asks his chauffeur to put Hamilton into Google Maps, he comes up anytime, anyplace, in any town hall in the constituency, he can challenge me on my views, I'll challenge him on his views, and he will see that the people of Scotland will utterly reject him.' He added: 'This guy doesn't believe in anything apart from himself.' Speaking to reporters, Mr Sarwar also described Mr Farage as a 'clown' who wants to turn the Holyrood by-election into a 'circus'. He said Reform cannot win in the seat, which he said is a two-horse race between the SNP and Labour. 'Scotland will utterly reject the Margaret Thatcher tribute act and they will recognise what the choice here locally is and what the choice is next year in the Scottish Parliament election,' he said.
