Propaganda, Inequality, and Epistemic Movement

Abstract

I analyze Jason Stanley’s model for how propaganda works, paying close attention to Stanley’s own rhetoric.  I argue that Stanley’s language be supplemented with a vocabulary that helps us to attend to what sorts of things move democratic knowers (epistemically speaking), what sorts of things do not, and why.   In addition, I argue that the reasonableness necessary for considering the views of others within democratic deliberation ought to be understood, not as an empathic, but as an interactive capacity.  Finally, I critique some of the ways in which Stanley speaks about the marginalized populations he aims to support.