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
Haha, thanks! Hadn’t seen /wasn’t sure amidst the PPE fracas!
November 17, 2025 at 12:23 AM
Haha, thanks! Hadn’t seen /wasn’t sure amidst the PPE fracas!
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 16, 2025 at 7:26 PM
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 16, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Thought you might have institutional access - there’s also scihub
November 15, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Thought you might have institutional access - there’s also scihub
If you’re actually interested in how identities very much facilitate the conditions in which misinformation is counteracted, I encourage you to read some of the research linked in the piece. But it seems like you’re not interested in that, so I’m not going to engage further.
November 15, 2025 at 1:55 PM
If you’re actually interested in how identities very much facilitate the conditions in which misinformation is counteracted, I encourage you to read some of the research linked in the piece. But it seems like you’re not interested in that, so I’m not going to engage further.
You’re making an empirical claim which is in fact false. I cite tons of the empirical research on this in the piece and pointed you towards an important example on the thread. I’m beginning to think you’re not actually interested in that.
November 15, 2025 at 1:51 PM
You’re making an empirical claim which is in fact false. I cite tons of the empirical research on this in the piece and pointed you towards an important example on the thread. I’m beginning to think you’re not actually interested in that.
Sorry but the article is addressing the most important and influential tradition of democratic theorizing on the left in the second half of the 20th century.
November 15, 2025 at 1:48 PM
Sorry but the article is addressing the most important and influential tradition of democratic theorizing on the left in the second half of the 20th century.
The point which you seem not to accept is that identity is not something you can either have more or less of. If you don’t accept that basic premise then yes you will not have any reason to accept the arguments I make. But the evidence for that proposition is very strong. Take a look at it.
November 15, 2025 at 1:46 PM
The point which you seem not to accept is that identity is not something you can either have more or less of. If you don’t accept that basic premise then yes you will not have any reason to accept the arguments I make. But the evidence for that proposition is very strong. Take a look at it.
Obviously no group is immune to this, and groups themselves have obligations to improve their epistemic practices. But that’s not the hard problem- the hard problem is getting people to trust those groups. Overall unions are good even if some members are not: see doi.org/10.1111/ajps... and related
American Journal of Political Science | MPSA Journal | Wiley Online Library
Scholars and political observers point to declining labor unions, on the one hand, and rising white identity politics, on the other, as profound changes in American politics. However, there has been ...
doi.org
November 15, 2025 at 1:40 PM
Obviously no group is immune to this, and groups themselves have obligations to improve their epistemic practices. But that’s not the hard problem- the hard problem is getting people to trust those groups. Overall unions are good even if some members are not: see doi.org/10.1111/ajps... and related
Definitely didn’t say we should stop trying to address misinformation. It’s both and, but identities is the more often neglected piece. If you want a more developed version of the view, check out doi.org/10.1177/1474...
I do talk there about how healthy epistemic practices are maintained.
I do talk there about how healthy epistemic practices are maintained.
Can deliberation neutralise power? - Samuel Bagg, 2018
Most democratic theorists agree that concentrations of wealth and power tend to distort the functioning of democracy and ought to be countered wherever possible...
doi.org
November 15, 2025 at 1:37 PM
Definitely didn’t say we should stop trying to address misinformation. It’s both and, but identities is the more often neglected piece. If you want a more developed version of the view, check out doi.org/10.1177/1474...
I do talk there about how healthy epistemic practices are maintained.
I do talk there about how healthy epistemic practices are maintained.
I’d encourage you to read some of the psychology literature linked in the piece. Getting rid of identities is not an option. It’s a basic constraint of the problem we’re working with.
November 15, 2025 at 1:34 PM
I’d encourage you to read some of the psychology literature linked in the piece. Getting rid of identities is not an option. It’s a basic constraint of the problem we’re working with.
Will check this out - looks great!
November 15, 2025 at 4:56 AM
Will check this out - looks great!
100%. But you gotta start somewhere. Fire on all cylinders.
November 15, 2025 at 4:47 AM
100%. But you gotta start somewhere. Fire on all cylinders.
At least we could still have peaceful transfers of power if we all believe the same lies. (And I think it’s a bit of an exaggeration to say that everything was a lie before. Monopoly media surely had its own biases but not as detached from truth as many fringe sources today.)
November 15, 2025 at 4:42 AM
At least we could still have peaceful transfers of power if we all believe the same lies. (And I think it’s a bit of an exaggeration to say that everything was a lie before. Monopoly media surely had its own biases but not as detached from truth as many fringe sources today.)
Resisting elite capture / oligarchy is the goal. This is one of many necessary means. I write about others elsewhere. But I don’t think you get very far with many of them until you build a mass movement of countervailing power. So identity is a key leverage point.
November 15, 2025 at 4:39 AM
Resisting elite capture / oligarchy is the goal. This is one of many necessary means. I write about others elsewhere. But I don’t think you get very far with many of them until you build a mass movement of countervailing power. So identity is a key leverage point.
Ah, very cool - thanks!
November 15, 2025 at 4:36 AM
Ah, very cool - thanks!
Politics is the art of the possible. And in any case, the proposal is not lying to people or keeping them in the dark; not sure where you got that. It’s about nudging people towards social networks and identities that are relatively more epistemically reliable, while also continuing persuasion.
November 15, 2025 at 4:33 AM
Politics is the art of the possible. And in any case, the proposal is not lying to people or keeping them in the dark; not sure where you got that. It’s about nudging people towards social networks and identities that are relatively more epistemically reliable, while also continuing persuasion.
Epistemic training is a good baseline but it’s not foolproof. Even the best trained are still influenced by their social identity. And recognizing this is not the same thing as saying that everyone is a gullible dupe. It’s just garden variety human frailty.
November 15, 2025 at 4:31 AM
Epistemic training is a good baseline but it’s not foolproof. Even the best trained are still influenced by their social identity. And recognizing this is not the same thing as saying that everyone is a gullible dupe. It’s just garden variety human frailty.
I don’t think this is an unstoppable trend! But we have to be motivated to stop it.
November 15, 2025 at 4:26 AM
I don’t think this is an unstoppable trend! But we have to be motivated to stop it.