What Should Citizens Believe?

How are citizens to become more able to expose dogmas and lies that damage society? The aim of this book is to share a range of ideas that can help to test the legitimacy of our beliefs. By exploring cooperative problem-solving in diverse contexts, readers will learn more about the basis for separating reliable beliefs from dubious claims. 'What Should Citizens Believe?' brings together the ideas of one of the leading thinkers on communitarian rationality and democratic development, and provides a number of distinct approaches to help explore the process of assessing rival contentions. These are set out in five parts: -Introductory Explorations -Practical Explorations -Civic Explorations -Philosophical Explorations -Novel Explorations -- What has been written about Henry Tam's previous books: On 'Time to Save Democracy' (Policy Press, 2018) - -"Henry Tam's Time to Save Democracy offers a practical guide for those of us who wish to fulfil the goals of democracy as a framework for 'collective self-governance' at all levels of society, from community activists up to national politicians and civil servants. It should be read and acted on." - Stuart Weir, Founder, Charter88; and inaugural director, Democratic Audit, University of Essex. -"This is a spirited, wide-ranging defence of democracy, and a call to arms for its renewal, from someone who has practised what he preaches in both government and civil society." - Professor Nick Pearce, Director of Institute for Policy Research, University of Bath On 'Against Power Inequalities' (Birkbeck, 2010) - -"Henry Tam has written a book that is breathtaking in its panoramic overview of the genealogy of power inequalities and the struggles against them. ... We have an inspirational example of a text that speaks truth to power." - Diane Reay, Professor of Education, University of Cambridge -"Tam's book is an intellectual tour de force, an erudite romp through the history of civilization that highlights the origins of power and the never-ending effort to democratize hierarchical systems through mobilized participatory communities." - Charles Derber, Professor of Sociology, Boston College (USA) On 'Communitarianism: a new agenda for politics and citizenship' (Palgrave Macmillan, 1998) - -"Philosophically and social-scientifically literate, Tam's mind is a galaxy of bright ideas, at once general and pragmatically specific. ... Those studying contemporary political philosophy will be aware of the gap between academic abstraction and such political reality as may be connected with it. What Tam's book does is supply a grasped context for such thinking to get some life and purchase." - Tony Skillen, University of Kent, review for 'Radical Philosophy'. -"The value of this book is in putting forward genuinely innovative ideas and contributing generously to the debate on different ways of doing things in politics and administration." - Chris Sladen, review for 'Teaching Public Administration'.