ABSTRACT
One of the motifs that runs throughout this book is the suggestion that vibrant public space fosters other public goods. Most notably, it facilitates the diffusion of political information, especially marginal or dissenting views that are underrepresented in the corporate-dominated media. Otherwise invisible points of view-that universities exploit the Third World by allowing their lucrative athletic wear to be manufactured in sweatshops or the reasons for abolishing the federal income tax-can be disseminated in the less competitive arena of public space. Leafletting, bell-ringing, demonstrating, and petitioning are still among the core tactics of grassroots campaigns. Some of these groups’ ideas, such as the benefits of school prayer and the dark side of globalization, circulate at the margins until grass-roots mobilization, marketing savvy, or political opportunity propels them into the mainstream media.
