Citizens and politicians no longer work together to achieve the democratic aim. Instead, both sectors use the means at their disposal to make the differences that they deem necessary on an individual rather than a collective level.
While this is a more contemporary argument than the one in Politics by Other Means, it nevertheless still does not address the issues from all sides. Still, the authors appear to assume the relative integrity of politicians in terms of achieving political rather than personal aims and the drive of citizens to participate, as well as their trust in the political process.
Knight and Lewis (in Ginsberg and Stone 176) address the feelings involved in political participation more fully, by means of the concept of ideological sentiment. The authors note that ideological sentiment can be influenced by political campaigns. This would explain the revolutionary American presidential election of 2009, where the collective decision was for a president that appears to exemplify democracy in its traditional form. Knight and Lewis indeed appear to acknowledge the connection that still exists, however tenuously, between politicians and their followers. The answer to the title of their piece, "Does Ideology Matter?," appears to be yes -- at least to a certain degree.
In conclusion, one could then say that there are many issues that Ginsberg and Shefter fail to consider in their 1990 work. While some of these can be explained by the time of writing, it is also true that the work might benefit from a more global view of all sides of the issue. Specifically, voter apathy and distrust, along with the reasons for these, could be discussed in greater detail. Both in their more...
Voters respond emotionally to certain actions by politicians. Voters who do not feel that their electoral candidates can be trusted, will not be motivated to vote or indeed to participate in
politics in any other way. This could also explain the reason for more individual participation in non-political activist causes, where citizens feel that their participation has some effect.
I do believe that Ginsberg and Shefter make several valid points, and indeed that their work is an important springboard for further
investigation in the dynamics of current politics and voter inclination. It is also important however to subject this work, as well as other political works and issues, to critical thought. The issues discussed are very complex, with multi-dimensional viewpoints and should be recognized as such.
References
Crenson, Matthew a. And Ginsberg, Benjamin. Downsizing democracy: ho America sidelined its citizens and privatized its
public. JHU Press, 2004.
Crenson, Matthew a and Ginsberg, Benjamin. "Citizens to Customers: How America Downsized Citizenship and Privatized Its Public." In . Making government manageable: executive organization and
management in the twenty-first century. Edited by Thomas H. Stanton and Benjamin Ginsberg JHU Press, 2004.
Ginsberg, Benjamin and Shefter, Martin. Politics by other means: the declining importance of elections in America. Basic Books, 1990.
Knight, Kathleen and Lewis, Carolyn V. "Does Ideology Matter?" In Do Elections Matter? Edited by Benjamin Ginsberg and Alan Stone. M.E. Sharpe, 1996.
