The social logic of political choice: Picking a political party in the context of immediate social circles

The Social Logic of Politics places social learning at the center of political choice. People develop their political preferences, knowledge, values, perceptions of ability, and decisions about political behavior in interactions with others, usually members of their social circles. Political attitudes and goals are not derivatives of exogenous economic preferences. They are not the results of careful calculations, in which optimization of personal needs guides the mode of reasoning. This theoretical stance draws sustenance from recent work across the social science, even as it harkens back to established, if neglected principles of political analysis. My thanks to Rüdiger Schmitt-Beck for his encouragement and for the critical comments of several anonymous referees and to Josip Dasović and Jennifer Fitzgerald, my co-authors of Partisan Families: the Social Logic of Bounded Partisanship in Germany and Britain (Zuckerman et al. 2007). Material from that book appears in this essay.     

Tony Blair's 'Media' Speech: The Commentators

Tony Blair's speech challenged the media over its standards in his valedictory lecture. Many of his charges about the absence of balance, attacks on motive and a pack mentality stand up, even if some are exaggerated and also applied well before his arrival in 10 Downing Street. Mr Blair's solutions did ot match his critique. What is required is a more self‐questioning media, being held to account on the internet and on specialist blogging sites. Vigorous criticism, requiring justification, is a more credible rout than tighter regulation. Tony Blair's speech on the changing pressures on the media is both interesting and convincing in its diagnosis (although generally reported in ways that did not reveal this). It is less convincing in suggestions for change: the fact that on‐line media will fall under Of‐com, and so under its minimal ‘content regulation’ will have little impact. Effective change could begin with other types of (self or other regulation). Some steps towards change might include minimal requirements for journalists and editors to accept elementary forms of accountability, such as disclosing conflicts of interest and payments made for ‘stories’. The scale of media coverage may be crucial in determining the allocation of aid, yet the attention the media pays to particular causes is arbitrary. Many serious disasters are not reported and as a consequence do not receive adequate aid, so that the victims of the crisis will lose out. Chronic long term problems, like famine, are ignored in favour of ‘sudden emergencies’. Reporting seeks sensation and simple stories which influences the way that aid agencies respond to the media. The complex background to a faraway disaster is often overlooked and not properly reported. Tony Blair's speech describing some of the news media as ‘feral beasts’ contained one paragraph which contained an insight into his views on new media. It was known that the outgoing Prime Minister was uncomfortable with some aspects of new technology but his remarks reveal a wider disappointment with how new media has failed to deliver changes which he had hoped for in political communications.This paper records Mr Blair's problems with new media and argues that by focusing on how the new technologies might provide a better way for politicians to by‐pass the traditional media he has missed the point of their wider benefits.     

惩罚性赔偿的根据与适用:法经济学观点

惩罚性赔偿的法经济学研究从20世纪70年代到现在已经产生了许多重要的成果,其中威慑理论最为成熟。但是,除了最优威慑外,还存在其他一些正当化的理由,如赔偿不足、惩罚等。惩罚性赔偿的适用,要考虑行为的可谴责性、被告的财富状况,也要考虑到诉讼成本等诸多因素。     

结合新的实际深化对马克思劳动价值论的认识

现代科学技术的发展,使科学技术和人的智力在生产中的作用与以往根本不同,使生产要素在价值形成中的作用发生了重大变化。社会主义市场经济的建立和发展,使按生产要素分配成为今天的现实。这些变化为我们今天的实践提出许多重大的理论和实际问题,我们必须按照江泽民同志“七一”讲话的要求,在新的历史条件下,结合时代特点,深化对马克思劳动和劳动价值论的认识。     

"三个代表"思想与邓小平社会主义本质论

"三个代表"思想是邓小平社会主义本质论的与时俱进新发展,是中国人民在新世纪继续推进建设有中国特色社会主义进一步发展的指导思想,这一思想深化和拓展了什么是社会主义、怎样建设社会主义的基本问题,开辟了如何建设社会主义学说的新境界.     

企业价值论初探

企业价值论是对企业经营管理活动的价值思考。它依据企业经营管理实践 ,从哲学价值论角度揭示企业在本质上是人们在其中从事创造价值活动的一种组织形态 ;企业目标所展现的是一个多方面的相互联系的价值目标系统 ;企业人是在创造财富的过程中实现着效用价值和人道价值统一的“价值人” ;企业制度体现着一种内含深刻价值意蕴的制度性价值 ;企业精神则是一种独特的价值意识 ;企业行为必须符合企业价值目标 ,体现企业精神。企业价值论的建立对于指导企业经营管理实践具有重要的意义 ,也将成为哲学价值论发展的新的生长点。     

犯罪心理学研究中运用量化方法引起的理论思考

量化与统计分析是一项重要的研究方法,在犯罪心理学研究中得到了广泛运用,同时也存在着使用的局限性。犯罪人有很强的心理掩饰性,对包括犯罪人在内的人的心理的测量实际上是一种间接测量,测得的数据是心理学家标定的数据,兼有客观性与主观性。量化研究如果不与科学思维相结合,有可能得出浅薄平庸甚至错误的结论。心理学研究应当以“人性”为基点,多种方法综合运用,实现量化方法与非量化方法的有机结合。     

企业文化研究路径的新探讨——《Z理论》方法论的应用

“经济人”的理论的缺陷,导致了“社会人”的行为科学的产生,威廉.大内的《Z理论》就是在这样的背景下产生的,其理论既有局限性又有优点,应用其方法对中国的企业文化进行探讨是一个较好的途径。     

西部大开发中生态效益补偿的理论探悉

西部生态环境在国家经济社会发展中举足轻重,必须采取有力措施保护和改善西部生态环境。生态价值论、公共产品理论以及公平正义等法律精神是构建西部生态效益补偿制度的理论基础,科学合理的生态效益补偿制度有利于平衡经济发展与生态保护、西部与中部东部的关系,从而有效维持甚至增值西部生态功能。     

再论邓小平国家安全思想

邓小平国家安全思想是新世纪维护中国国家安全的指路明灯,它的内容十分丰富,是一个完整的科学体系;以江泽民为核心的党的第三代中央领导集体在世纪之交对国家安全提出了一系列重要的新观点,是对邓小平国家安全思想的丰富和发展。