Occupy Democracy…. But what about the human brain?

Some new scientific evidence is emerging which actually brings into question some of the fundamental assumptions of Democracy, especially the belief that a well informed public increases democracy and that people actually care about social issues.
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2010/07/11/how_facts_backfire/ Researchers discover a surprising threat to democracy: our brains
http://www.sciguru.com/newsitem/11361/Ignorance-bliss-when-it-comes-challenging-social-issues — The less people know about important complex issues such as the economy, energy consumption and the environment, the more they want to avoid becoming well-informed, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association.
Together, these two studies may cause us to rethink the way we promote social activism and the future of governance structures. Especially in Western culture.

Occupy, with the focus on the 99% vs the 1% and the social and economic inequality between the two, whilst camping to force the issue to a head, are possibly making people want the occupiers to take the issue on and resolve it, but the majority of the 99% aren’t likely to be interested in helping unless changes are made. That said, it has been very successful so far in raising awareness and thankfully, Occupy seems to be undergoing a metamorphosis which may help bring engagement.

By Michael Kubler

Photographer, cinematographer, web master/coder.

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