Aesthetics and Political Culture in Modern Society

• Main Author: Nielsen, Henrik Kaare 1953- (Author)
• Format: Book
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Routledge 2018
• Series: Routledge innovations in political theory 81
• Subjects: Aesthetics > Political aspects; Political culture > Western countries; Democracy > Western countries
• Online Access: Click Here to View Status and Holdings.

 Do aesthetic appeals to senses and emotions in political debate necessarily marginalise political reason and reduce citizens to consumers - thus dangerously undermining democracy? Or is sensuous-emotional engagement, on the contrary, a basic fact of the political process and a crucial precondition for revitalising democracy? Aesthetics and Political Culture in Modern Society investigates the current interrelationship between aesthetic practice and political practice in Western democracies, focusing on its impact on democratic political culture. Henrik Kaare Nielsen argues that aesthetic interventions in the political process do not by definition undermine politics' content of reason. Instead, a differentiation must be made between a multiplicity of aesthetic forms of intervention - some of which tend to weaken the political judgement of citizens while other forms tend to stimulate competent judgement.