Daily: Why “Hobby Politics” is failing us all

For many of us, politics is a hobby. We soak in the gossip, eat up the statistics and tweet our outrage when an unpopular decision is made. But if we want to make change, should we get off our sofas and start to mobilise? Tufts University politics professor and author of Politics Is for Power, Eitan Hersh tells Ros Taylor why we should stop treating politics like entertainment, and the steps we can take for more effective political participation.

• “For decades we’ve seen the decline of in-person civic participation.”
• “After the 2016 election students were in tears about the result, but they didn’t lift a finger during the campaign.”
• “If more people understood how power flowed in their community, they’d know what to do when there was conflict.”
• “White Americans are less likely to spend their political time on volunteering than minority communities.”
• “Well-educated people know that political engagement is something they should do, but they still don’t do it.”

Presented by Ros Taylor. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers: Jelena Sofronijevic, Jacob Archbold and Nat Amos. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production

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