The public imagination and the dictatorship of ignorance

Authoritarianism is no longer imposed largely through military repression; it now takes place by undermining the public imagination and using culture and its various apparatuses to weaken civic literacy and the public institutions fundamental to civic culture. This article argues that in the 21st century democracy has become fragile. Under the onslaught of what I call disimagination machines, education in its most repressive educational and …