Armando Gonzalez

US Politics 2200

Richard fox

June 2, 2010

Polarization, oversimplification, , and outright lies .

The basic root of all political and sociological problems affecting the US is that of the

inequality of information, or information asymmetry. Information asymmetry is a situation in

which one person uses information that only they have to gain an advantage over someone else.

An example is, when a car salesman uses the inexperience of a customer to generate higher

profits than normal. The car salesman will use his knowledge to make a car seem more desirable

or “up-sell” additional items and extra features that the customer thinks they want.

The use of information asymmetry is called propaganda. Even though it brings up images

of communist Russia and Nazi Germany, propaganda can be found all around us from classic

films from decades ago to the latest political campaign ads, even to the news on the radio we

listen to in the mornings on our way to work or school. Simplicity repetition and emotional

significance are Elements of Propaganda, they are important for getting a message across

because they make it easy to remember. The biggest problem with the irresponsible use of

propaganda is that a message is often taken at its face value with no critical thinking.

It is not an inequality of means that is the most alarming problem facing America today.

The problem is an inequality of information. The decline of the quality of information can be
traced in a declining line from the industrial-age Italian coffee houses all the way to satire-news

television programs and the “blogosphere” of the internet age. A high school drop-out is more

likely to consume information from sources that are meant to be entertainment rather than real

news. At the other end of the spectrum, a well educated doctor or an aerospace engineer is more

than likely to analyze and cite multiple sources of information. A high school drop-out is also

more likely to spend his free time pursuing entertainment rather than staying informed.

Weaning people from Intellectual baby formula that is propaganda into the meat and

potatoes enlightenment is the only way to defeat information asymmetry. It must start at the

formal operational stage of life, or around age 12. Psychologists have understood that this is the

stage of life where human reasoning expands from purely concrete to understanding abstract

thinking. It is at this important time that a person needs to learn to think critically and analyze the

world around them.