#Republic by
Cass R. Sunstein breaks down our fragmented ways of consuming news
and information, showing how it has lead to increased partisanship and
decreased respect for those whose views may not be our own. Sunstein worked in
both the Clinton and Obama administrations in different capacities but has his
finger on the pulse of understanding how our consumption of
information and news has become more partisan and increasingly crafted to
our perceived views as time has progressed. He places a chunk of the
blame for this at the feet of Facebook, for crafting newsfeeds around what it
thinks is our views.
The author is great at acknowledging the increasing divisions politically and
socially but struggles to nail down strong arguments for how to fix it. He lists a myriad of options but does not settle on a list of ideas that
he feels are most effective to counter our divisive world, nor does he
challenge us as a society to rise above the curation and handcrafted newsfeed
to seek out views that dissent with our own. He suggests some various options
that Facebook and Twitter can try out but leaves little of
the challenge at Americans themselves, who have largely grouped into various
social media herds.
#Republic is an
effective read at understanding the current environment and listing a number of
suggestions that Sunstein argues may start fixing it. Where he misses the mark
is in not putting more onus on Americans to think critically and to seek views
outside of their “herd” in helping shape their views, nor does he put more
pressure on traditional media sources to adhere to a higher standard and avoid
the sensationalism of BREAKING stories nonstop.
MY RATING - 3.5
