Communicating the Future. W. Lance Bennett

      

       Table of Contents

      1  Cover

      2  Dedication

      3  Title Page

      4  Copyright Page

      5  Acknowledgments

      6  Introduction: The Future is Now Notes

      7  Overview of the Book

      8  1 Communicating Complex Problems Language vs. Reality: Avoiding Solutions that Perpetuate Problems Life in an Age of Magical Thinking How Everyday Communication Logic Affects Thinking About Change Recognize That the Future Starts Now Be Careful with Categories Learn to Think at the Intersection of Categories Avoid Backwards Thinking that Gets Us Working the Wrong Ends of Problems Notice How Facts and Values Are Used Selectively to Support Each Other Think Critically about “Being Realistic” Using Communication Logics to Decode Everyday Communication Why So Much Everyday Communication Is Unhelpful Imagining a Different World The Politics Problem The Idea-Flow Framework Idea Production Packaging Ideas Networking Ideas Political Uptake Notes

      9  2 What’s Missing in Environmental Communication? Why Ideas Matter The Fragmentation of Ideas in the Modern Environmental Movement Competing Sources of Idea Production Better Packaging for Alarms than Solutions The Weak Networking of Environmental Ideas The Limited Political Uptake of Real Solutions The Pitfalls of Sustainable Development Notes

      10  3 Economy vs. Environment: Selling Predatory Economics The Idea of Endless Growth The Rise of Neoliberal Free-Market Mania The Production of Neoliberal Ideas Packaging Neoliberalism Networking Neoliberalism Political Uptake The Problem of Post-Democracy Notes

      11  4 Democracy with a Future: Mobilizing Ideas and Opportunities for Change The Political Future at a Crossroads Some Political Lessons from the Rise of Neoliberalism Lesson 1: The Coordinated Production of Alternative Ideas Lesson 2: Packaging Ideas for Change Lesson 3: Networking the Spread of Ideas Lesson 4: Political Uptake and Institutional Embedding of Ideas and Values Lesson 5: Taking Advantage of Political Opportunities Seizing Opportunities for Change Notes

      12  5 Communicating Change: Attention, Amplification, and Organization Making Sure the Contents Suit the Packaging Shifting Attention to (Simpler) Ideas about Economic Change Setting the Stage for Change: A Mindset for Developing Better Ideas How Change Happens: Power, People, and Government