ERIC Number: EJ956793
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012-Feb
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
Reference Count: 0
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0309-8249
Making Political Anger Possible: A Task for Civic Education
White, Patricia
Journal of Philosophy of Education, v46 n1 p1-13 Feb 2012
The article asks whether political anger has a legitimate place in a democracy, as this is a political system designed to resolve conflicts by peaceful negotiation. It distinguishes personal from social anger and political anger, to focus explicitly on the latter. It argues that both the feeling and expression of political anger are subject to normative constraints, often specific to social status and gender. The article examines arguments, including those of Seneca, in favour of an anger-free society. It concludes, however, that a democracy cannot dispense with political anger, which has a vital role to play in protecting things of value. This role demands a civic education such that when democratic values are under threat citizens will not feel apathetic or simply fearful, but angry and possessed of a repertoire of ways of expressing democratic anger.
Descriptors: Civics, Democracy, Political Attitudes, Psychological Patterns, Social Justice, Activism, Beliefs, Teacher Role, Citizenship Education, Social Problems
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A

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