Customer Reviews

The Symbolic Uses of Politics

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I had to read this book to complete a long undergraduate paper, and it was one of the best books I've ever read regarding how politics works. It's amazing that the book was written in 1964, because it is so applicable to so many events. It's not the most readable book (it's rather dense), but the information provided is so poignant and accurate, that it more than makes up for this. Any time I see something ridiculous political hoopla on the news, it all makes sense after Murray Edelman.

As I saw it, the main thrust of the book is that people don't want tangible "Things" from the government. Instead they want "the feeling that they are getting things" from the government. starting with this premise, Edelman explains how this works out in electoral politics, policy actions, and civil rights debates. It's stunning how accurate his system is and how applicable his general rules of politics are to almost any situation. It's a great book, and a must for anyone getting into the Political Science field.

Chapter 1 is outstanding, but if you purchase this book, like I did, you will be disappointed with the amount of "meat" in the remaining chapters.

It is unfortunate Murray Edelman does not have economics training, or expertise in comparing the economic outcomes of different countries. It would have been very interesting to flesh out the consequences of the symbolic uses of politics with case studies of different issues, different interest groups, different affected groups, in different countries and historical periods. After the excellent "Introduction", the other chapters just yammer the same points on and on.

In this edition, the 1984 Afterword ends the book with a dull thud. It is lamely informed by Post-Modern relativism, so the symbolic truths of politics become the *only* truths of politics; Mr. Edelman doesn't even see that makes the whole book irrelevant because slight - that analysis turns his book into "All Uses of Politics" and his book is hardly that at 232 pages.

I am glad I purchased the book, because the first chapter in my copy is heavily marked up (sometimes in admiration of a well constructed phrase), and there are some excellent bibliographic references for further pursuit. So it would be impossible for me to give less than three stars.

If you're looking to psycho-analyze the effectiveness of symbolism and develop your own theory of political advertising, nab this book. It's one of the classic piece of poli-sci literature.