Samuel Bagg
@samuel-bagg.bsky.social
Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of South Carolina. Democratic Theory. Book: The Dispersion of Power: A Critical Realist Theory of Democracy. Bylines Dissent, Boston Review, etc
Pinned
Samuel Bagg
@samuel-bagg.bsky.social
· Dec 31
It's finally happening. My book has a webpage! And a release date! You can pre-order it! You probably shouldn't, given the price, but if you have a library (or rich uncle), tell them to buy it for you: tinyurl.com/Bagg-OUP-UK in UK (Jan 4) or tinyurl.com/Bagg-OUP-US in US (Mar 4)
Since today is the last day I can say it: my book came out this year! It tries to capture what's wrong with democracy and how we might fix it. (academic.oup.com/book/55806)
Reposted by Samuel Bagg
Would love to see someone from the moderate, Majority Dem faction really address and wrestle with the political effects of what Labour has been up to.
Latest YouGov government approval ratings, 15-17 November 2025
Approve: 11% (-2 from 8-10 Nov)
Disapprove: 69% (-1)
Net: -58 (-1)
yougov.co.uk/topics/polit...
Approve: 11% (-2 from 8-10 Nov)
Disapprove: 69% (-1)
Net: -58 (-1)
yougov.co.uk/topics/polit...
November 18, 2025 at 10:15 PM
Would love to see someone from the moderate, Majority Dem faction really address and wrestle with the political effects of what Labour has been up to.
Reposted by Samuel Bagg
This was very good
Misinformation *is* central to democratic problems today, but the solution is *not* to correct such epistemic failures directly. Instead, we must address them at their roots, in social identity.
Or so I argue in a new post for @apaphilosophy.bsky.social.
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
Or so I argue in a new post for @apaphilosophy.bsky.social.
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
The Problem is Epistemic. The Solution is Not. | Blog of the APA
Doubts about the wisdom of the masses are as old as philosophy itself. Yet interest in democracy’s “epistemic” merits has surged in the last decade—and it is no mystery why. Democracy is collapsing ar...
blog.apaonline.org
November 15, 2025 at 9:19 PM
This was very good
Reposted by Samuel Bagg
Excellent post.
⬇⬇⬇⬇⬇⬇⬇
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Misinformation *is* central to democratic problems today, but the solution is *not* to correct such epistemic failures directly. Instead, we must address them at their roots, in social identity.
Or so I argue in a new post for @apaphilosophy.bsky.social.
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
Or so I argue in a new post for @apaphilosophy.bsky.social.
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
The Problem is Epistemic. The Solution is Not. | Blog of the APA
Doubts about the wisdom of the masses are as old as philosophy itself. Yet interest in democracy’s “epistemic” merits has surged in the last decade—and it is no mystery why. Democracy is collapsing ar...
blog.apaonline.org
November 13, 2025 at 8:04 PM
Excellent post.
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Reposted by Samuel Bagg
The way out is “not to ensure every citizen employs optimal epistemic practices, but to weaken their social identification with cranks and conspiracy theorists, and strengthen their identification with the broadly reliable collective practices of science, scholarship, journalism, law, and so on.”
Misinformation *is* central to democratic problems today, but the solution is *not* to correct such epistemic failures directly. Instead, we must address them at their roots, in social identity.
Or so I argue in a new post for @apaphilosophy.bsky.social.
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
Or so I argue in a new post for @apaphilosophy.bsky.social.
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
The Problem is Epistemic. The Solution is Not. | Blog of the APA
Doubts about the wisdom of the masses are as old as philosophy itself. Yet interest in democracy’s “epistemic” merits has surged in the last decade—and it is no mystery why. Democracy is collapsing ar...
blog.apaonline.org
November 14, 2025 at 9:47 PM
The way out is “not to ensure every citizen employs optimal epistemic practices, but to weaken their social identification with cranks and conspiracy theorists, and strengthen their identification with the broadly reliable collective practices of science, scholarship, journalism, law, and so on.”
Reposted by Samuel Bagg
Now where did I put my Fanon with laser eyes jpeg…or my Sylvia Wynter with laser eyes for that matter…
Misinformation *is* central to democratic problems today, but the solution is *not* to correct such epistemic failures directly. Instead, we must address them at their roots, in social identity.
Or so I argue in a new post for @apaphilosophy.bsky.social.
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
Or so I argue in a new post for @apaphilosophy.bsky.social.
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
The Problem is Epistemic. The Solution is Not. | Blog of the APA
Doubts about the wisdom of the masses are as old as philosophy itself. Yet interest in democracy’s “epistemic” merits has surged in the last decade—and it is no mystery why. Democracy is collapsing ar...
blog.apaonline.org
November 14, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Now where did I put my Fanon with laser eyes jpeg…or my Sylvia Wynter with laser eyes for that matter…
Reposted by Samuel Bagg
I’ve been thinking about this a lot and I think it’s exactly right. Read it
Misinformation *is* central to democratic problems today, but the solution is *not* to correct such epistemic failures directly. Instead, we must address them at their roots, in social identity.
Or so I argue in a new post for @apaphilosophy.bsky.social.
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
Or so I argue in a new post for @apaphilosophy.bsky.social.
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
The Problem is Epistemic. The Solution is Not. | Blog of the APA
Doubts about the wisdom of the masses are as old as philosophy itself. Yet interest in democracy’s “epistemic” merits has surged in the last decade—and it is no mystery why. Democracy is collapsing ar...
blog.apaonline.org
November 14, 2025 at 2:53 PM
I’ve been thinking about this a lot and I think it’s exactly right. Read it
Reposted by Samuel Bagg
this is really good
Misinformation *is* central to democratic problems today, but the solution is *not* to correct such epistemic failures directly. Instead, we must address them at their roots, in social identity.
Or so I argue in a new post for @apaphilosophy.bsky.social.
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
Or so I argue in a new post for @apaphilosophy.bsky.social.
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
The Problem is Epistemic. The Solution is Not. | Blog of the APA
Doubts about the wisdom of the masses are as old as philosophy itself. Yet interest in democracy’s “epistemic” merits has surged in the last decade—and it is no mystery why. Democracy is collapsing ar...
blog.apaonline.org
November 14, 2025 at 2:19 PM
this is really good
An important piece on this theme: forgeorganizing.org/article/we-s...
November 14, 2025 at 1:13 PM
An important piece on this theme: forgeorganizing.org/article/we-s...
We say we want to save democracy. But we’ll never make real progress if we keep attacking the symptoms rather than the disease.
Misinformation *is* central to democratic problems today, but the solution is *not* to correct such epistemic failures directly. Instead, we must address them at their roots, in social identity.
Or so I argue in a new post for @apaphilosophy.bsky.social.
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
Or so I argue in a new post for @apaphilosophy.bsky.social.
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
The Problem is Epistemic. The Solution is Not. | Blog of the APA
Doubts about the wisdom of the masses are as old as philosophy itself. Yet interest in democracy’s “epistemic” merits has surged in the last decade—and it is no mystery why. Democracy is collapsing ar...
blog.apaonline.org
November 14, 2025 at 1:10 PM
We say we want to save democracy. But we’ll never make real progress if we keep attacking the symptoms rather than the disease.
Reposted by Samuel Bagg
“effective campaigns of democratic renewal will thus focus on reshaping the meaning of certain identities that have been captured by anti-democratic forces—such as rurality or masculinity—and shifting the relative salience of others—such as class.”
Misinformation *is* central to democratic problems today, but the solution is *not* to correct such epistemic failures directly. Instead, we must address them at their roots, in social identity.
Or so I argue in a new post for @apaphilosophy.bsky.social.
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
Or so I argue in a new post for @apaphilosophy.bsky.social.
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
The Problem is Epistemic. The Solution is Not. | Blog of the APA
Doubts about the wisdom of the masses are as old as philosophy itself. Yet interest in democracy’s “epistemic” merits has surged in the last decade—and it is no mystery why. Democracy is collapsing ar...
blog.apaonline.org
November 14, 2025 at 5:44 AM
“effective campaigns of democratic renewal will thus focus on reshaping the meaning of certain identities that have been captured by anti-democratic forces—such as rurality or masculinity—and shifting the relative salience of others—such as class.”
Reposted by Samuel Bagg
Five stars, must read for life in the 21st century
Misinformation *is* central to democratic problems today, but the solution is *not* to correct such epistemic failures directly. Instead, we must address them at their roots, in social identity.
Or so I argue in a new post for @apaphilosophy.bsky.social.
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
Or so I argue in a new post for @apaphilosophy.bsky.social.
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
The Problem is Epistemic. The Solution is Not. | Blog of the APA
Doubts about the wisdom of the masses are as old as philosophy itself. Yet interest in democracy’s “epistemic” merits has surged in the last decade—and it is no mystery why. Democracy is collapsing ar...
blog.apaonline.org
November 14, 2025 at 6:17 AM
Five stars, must read for life in the 21st century
Reposted by Samuel Bagg
How do we mostly make our highest-quality judgments? By “trust[ing] the right people at the right times.“
We are, and ought only to be, suckers for knowledge.
We are, and ought only to be, suckers for knowledge.
Misinformation *is* central to democratic problems today, but the solution is *not* to correct such epistemic failures directly. Instead, we must address them at their roots, in social identity.
Or so I argue in a new post for @apaphilosophy.bsky.social.
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
Or so I argue in a new post for @apaphilosophy.bsky.social.
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
The Problem is Epistemic. The Solution is Not. | Blog of the APA
Doubts about the wisdom of the masses are as old as philosophy itself. Yet interest in democracy’s “epistemic” merits has surged in the last decade—and it is no mystery why. Democracy is collapsing ar...
blog.apaonline.org
November 14, 2025 at 11:00 AM
How do we mostly make our highest-quality judgments? By “trust[ing] the right people at the right times.“
We are, and ought only to be, suckers for knowledge.
We are, and ought only to be, suckers for knowledge.
Reposted by Samuel Bagg
"Workplace organizing still has a unique ability to bring diverse people together in pursuit of common aims: a revived labor movement must therefore be a central part of any project of democratic renewal."
@samuel-bagg.bsky.social
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
@samuel-bagg.bsky.social
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
The Problem is Epistemic. The Solution is Not. | Blog of the APA
Doubts about the wisdom of the masses are as old as philosophy itself. Yet interest in democracy’s “epistemic” merits has surged in the last decade—and it is no mystery why. Democracy is collapsing ar...
blog.apaonline.org
November 14, 2025 at 11:59 AM
"Workplace organizing still has a unique ability to bring diverse people together in pursuit of common aims: a revived labor movement must therefore be a central part of any project of democratic renewal."
@samuel-bagg.bsky.social
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
@samuel-bagg.bsky.social
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
Reposted by Samuel Bagg
Excellent piece from @samuel-bagg.bsky.social. Brought clarity to my thinking over the past couple years. Who and what we trust is the driving force in the vastly different world views and perceptions of reality that is contributing to the political divide.
The Problem is Epistemic. The Solution is Not. | Blog of the APA
Doubts about the wisdom of the masses are as old as philosophy itself. Yet interest in democracy’s “epistemic” merits has surged in the last decade—and it is no mystery why. Democracy is collapsing ar...
blog.apaonline.org
November 14, 2025 at 4:15 AM
Excellent piece from @samuel-bagg.bsky.social. Brought clarity to my thinking over the past couple years. Who and what we trust is the driving force in the vastly different world views and perceptions of reality that is contributing to the political divide.
Reposted by Samuel Bagg
"Modern humans cannot make [most] quality judgments [] using only our own direct experience. Instead, we mostly trust what others tell us. The difference [] is whether we trust the right people at the right times. And this is where social identity comes in."
Important read about #misinformation 👇
Important read about #misinformation 👇
Misinformation *is* central to democratic problems today, but the solution is *not* to correct such epistemic failures directly. Instead, we must address them at their roots, in social identity.
Or so I argue in a new post for @apaphilosophy.bsky.social.
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
Or so I argue in a new post for @apaphilosophy.bsky.social.
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
The Problem is Epistemic. The Solution is Not. | Blog of the APA
Doubts about the wisdom of the masses are as old as philosophy itself. Yet interest in democracy’s “epistemic” merits has surged in the last decade—and it is no mystery why. Democracy is collapsing ar...
blog.apaonline.org
November 14, 2025 at 4:04 AM
"Modern humans cannot make [most] quality judgments [] using only our own direct experience. Instead, we mostly trust what others tell us. The difference [] is whether we trust the right people at the right times. And this is where social identity comes in."
Important read about #misinformation 👇
Important read about #misinformation 👇
Reposted by Samuel Bagg
A really important point. You can't "solve"misinformation without understanding the ways beliefs function as identity markers more than attempts to represent reality accurately gone awry.
Misinformation *is* central to democratic problems today, but the solution is *not* to correct such epistemic failures directly. Instead, we must address them at their roots, in social identity.
Or so I argue in a new post for @apaphilosophy.bsky.social.
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
Or so I argue in a new post for @apaphilosophy.bsky.social.
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
The Problem is Epistemic. The Solution is Not. | Blog of the APA
Doubts about the wisdom of the masses are as old as philosophy itself. Yet interest in democracy’s “epistemic” merits has surged in the last decade—and it is no mystery why. Democracy is collapsing ar...
blog.apaonline.org
November 14, 2025 at 3:00 AM
A really important point. You can't "solve"misinformation without understanding the ways beliefs function as identity markers more than attempts to represent reality accurately gone awry.
Reposted by Samuel Bagg
Interesting thread
Misinformation *is* central to democratic problems today, but the solution is *not* to correct such epistemic failures directly. Instead, we must address them at their roots, in social identity.
Or so I argue in a new post for @apaphilosophy.bsky.social.
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
Or so I argue in a new post for @apaphilosophy.bsky.social.
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
The Problem is Epistemic. The Solution is Not. | Blog of the APA
Doubts about the wisdom of the masses are as old as philosophy itself. Yet interest in democracy’s “epistemic” merits has surged in the last decade—and it is no mystery why. Democracy is collapsing ar...
blog.apaonline.org
November 14, 2025 at 3:04 AM
Interesting thread
Reposted by Samuel Bagg
Read the whole thread, but this is key. Invest less in messaging and more in messengers, forever.
And while gifted leaders can sometimes accomplish this with rhetoric, the most reliable methods are rooted in ongoing face-to-face relationships, within organizations whose purposes are *not* directly political. The target audience is not “usual suspects” who already show up to political meetings.
November 14, 2025 at 3:07 AM
Read the whole thread, but this is key. Invest less in messaging and more in messengers, forever.
Reposted by Samuel Bagg
Combatting disinformatiom must happen in the context of social identity.
Misinformation *is* central to democratic problems today, but the solution is *not* to correct such epistemic failures directly. Instead, we must address them at their roots, in social identity.
Or so I argue in a new post for @apaphilosophy.bsky.social.
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
Or so I argue in a new post for @apaphilosophy.bsky.social.
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
The Problem is Epistemic. The Solution is Not. | Blog of the APA
Doubts about the wisdom of the masses are as old as philosophy itself. Yet interest in democracy’s “epistemic” merits has surged in the last decade—and it is no mystery why. Democracy is collapsing ar...
blog.apaonline.org
November 14, 2025 at 3:16 AM
Combatting disinformatiom must happen in the context of social identity.
Reposted by Samuel Bagg
This is the smartest thing I've read in ages. By the end I was practically cheering. Every word.
Misinformation *is* central to democratic problems today, but the solution is *not* to correct such epistemic failures directly. Instead, we must address them at their roots, in social identity.
Or so I argue in a new post for @apaphilosophy.bsky.social.
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
Or so I argue in a new post for @apaphilosophy.bsky.social.
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
The Problem is Epistemic. The Solution is Not. | Blog of the APA
Doubts about the wisdom of the masses are as old as philosophy itself. Yet interest in democracy’s “epistemic” merits has surged in the last decade—and it is no mystery why. Democracy is collapsing ar...
blog.apaonline.org
November 13, 2025 at 9:08 PM
This is the smartest thing I've read in ages. By the end I was practically cheering. Every word.
Reposted by Samuel Bagg
This is very very good
Misinformation *is* central to democratic problems today, but the solution is *not* to correct such epistemic failures directly. Instead, we must address them at their roots, in social identity.
Or so I argue in a new post for @apaphilosophy.bsky.social.
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
Or so I argue in a new post for @apaphilosophy.bsky.social.
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
The Problem is Epistemic. The Solution is Not. | Blog of the APA
Doubts about the wisdom of the masses are as old as philosophy itself. Yet interest in democracy’s “epistemic” merits has surged in the last decade—and it is no mystery why. Democracy is collapsing ar...
blog.apaonline.org
November 13, 2025 at 9:12 PM
This is very very good
Reposted by Samuel Bagg
“In short, decades of research have demonstrated that our political beliefs and behavior are thoroughly motivated and mediated by our social identities: i.e., the many cross-cutting social groupings we feel affinity with.”
An essential read for making sense of these turbulent times!
An essential read for making sense of these turbulent times!
Misinformation *is* central to democratic problems today, but the solution is *not* to correct such epistemic failures directly. Instead, we must address them at their roots, in social identity.
Or so I argue in a new post for @apaphilosophy.bsky.social.
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
Or so I argue in a new post for @apaphilosophy.bsky.social.
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
The Problem is Epistemic. The Solution is Not. | Blog of the APA
Doubts about the wisdom of the masses are as old as philosophy itself. Yet interest in democracy’s “epistemic” merits has surged in the last decade—and it is no mystery why. Democracy is collapsing ar...
blog.apaonline.org
November 13, 2025 at 9:21 PM
“In short, decades of research have demonstrated that our political beliefs and behavior are thoroughly motivated and mediated by our social identities: i.e., the many cross-cutting social groupings we feel affinity with.”
An essential read for making sense of these turbulent times!
An essential read for making sense of these turbulent times!
Reposted by Samuel Bagg
I think this article does a pretty good job of outlining my own views on this matter. One relatively technical point I'd disagree on is that I don't think our membership of/relationship to social groups is necessarily irrational or non-epistemic; there's a lot we can do to make better choices there.
Misinformation *is* central to democratic problems today, but the solution is *not* to correct such epistemic failures directly. Instead, we must address them at their roots, in social identity.
Or so I argue in a new post for @apaphilosophy.bsky.social.
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
Or so I argue in a new post for @apaphilosophy.bsky.social.
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
The Problem is Epistemic. The Solution is Not. | Blog of the APA
Doubts about the wisdom of the masses are as old as philosophy itself. Yet interest in democracy’s “epistemic” merits has surged in the last decade—and it is no mystery why. Democracy is collapsing ar...
blog.apaonline.org
November 13, 2025 at 9:44 PM
I think this article does a pretty good job of outlining my own views on this matter. One relatively technical point I'd disagree on is that I don't think our membership of/relationship to social groups is necessarily irrational or non-epistemic; there's a lot we can do to make better choices there.
Reposted by Samuel Bagg
"the most reliably successful efforts to transform social identities in a democratic direction operate outside the realm of mass politics altogether... The classic location for this sort of 'organizing' is labor unions, which have always played a central role in the consolidation of democracy."
Misinformation *is* central to democratic problems today, but the solution is *not* to correct such epistemic failures directly. Instead, we must address them at their roots, in social identity.
Or so I argue in a new post for @apaphilosophy.bsky.social.
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
Or so I argue in a new post for @apaphilosophy.bsky.social.
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
The Problem is Epistemic. The Solution is Not. | Blog of the APA
Doubts about the wisdom of the masses are as old as philosophy itself. Yet interest in democracy’s “epistemic” merits has surged in the last decade—and it is no mystery why. Democracy is collapsing ar...
blog.apaonline.org
November 13, 2025 at 9:49 PM
"the most reliably successful efforts to transform social identities in a democratic direction operate outside the realm of mass politics altogether... The classic location for this sort of 'organizing' is labor unions, which have always played a central role in the consolidation of democracy."
Reposted by Samuel Bagg
Yes, yes, yes!
Misinformation *is* central to democratic problems today, but the solution is *not* to correct such epistemic failures directly. Instead, we must address them at their roots, in social identity.
Or so I argue in a new post for @apaphilosophy.bsky.social.
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
Or so I argue in a new post for @apaphilosophy.bsky.social.
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
The Problem is Epistemic. The Solution is Not. | Blog of the APA
Doubts about the wisdom of the masses are as old as philosophy itself. Yet interest in democracy’s “epistemic” merits has surged in the last decade—and it is no mystery why. Democracy is collapsing ar...
blog.apaonline.org
November 13, 2025 at 10:01 PM
Yes, yes, yes!