Recently, when working weird hours and drinking unconsumable amounts of coffee (for a normal person) for the politics essay – How far have the constitutional reforms introduced since 1997 strengthened or weakened the democracy in Britain? – I came across a small paragraph, which was meant to spark (youth) interest in general politics. It was meant as a foundational piece.

The problem discussed in the whole piece – an analytical paper on the perspective by scholars, experts, politician and various opinion groups on the reasons for falling voter turnouts – was simple: people are not showing up and ther are many reasons behind this. 

But, like said, one paragraph caught my eye. And to me, that simple piece of knowledge is the basis of every concept important nowadays: education.

“The answer would appear to lie in
changes in the education system, with politics being introduced as a core
topic. By helping generate a population more informed about the political
system, and hence about what Parliament does, this change could
produce greater support for, and certainly a more balanced
appreciation of, the institution of Parliament.”

Norton, P. (1997); The United
Kingdom: Restoring Confidence?; Parliamentary Affairs vol. 50, p.
357-372.

Would this work for provoking larger circulation of Journalism, as a result of inducing ‘caring’ about politics? Or at least general knowledge would work as incentive as to read a newspaper.