A stellar group of America''s leading political thinkers explore how to reboot our democracyThe presidential election of 2016 highlighted some long-standing flaws in American democracy and added a few new ones. Across the political spectrum, most Americans do not believe that democracy is delivering on its promises of fairness, justice, shared prosperity, or security in a changing world. The nation cannot even begin to address climate change and economic justice if it remains paralyzed by political gridlock.
Democracy Unchained is about making American democracy work to solve problems that have long impaired our system of governance. The book is the collective work of thirty of the most perceptive writers, practitioners, scientists, educators, and journalists writing today, who are committed to moving the political conversation from the present anger and angst to the positive and constructive change necessary to achieve the full promise of a durable democracy that works for everyone and protects our common future. Including essays by Yasha Mounk on populism, Chisun Lee on money and politics, Ras Baraka on building democracy from the ground up, and Bill McKibben on climate, Democracy Unchained is the articulation of faith in democracy and will be required reading for all who are working to make democracy a reality.
Table of ContentsForeword
Introduction
David W. OrrPart I. The Crisis of DemocracyPopulism and Democracy
Yascha MounkReconstructing Our Constitutional Democracy
K. Sabeel RahmanRestoring Healthy Party Competition
Jacob S. Hacker and Paul PiersonWhen Democracy Becomes Something Else: The Problem of Elections and What to Do About It
Andrew GumbelThe Best Answer to Money in Politics After Citizens United: Public Campaign Financing in the Empire State and Beyond
Chisun LeeRemaking the Presidency After Trump
Jeremi SuriThe Problem of Presidentialism
Stephen SkowronekPart II. Foundations of DemocracyRenewing the American Democratic Faith
Steven C. RockefellerAmerican Land, American Democracy
Eric FreyfogleRace and Democracy: The Kennedys, Obama, Trump, and Us
Michael Eric DysonLiberty and Justice for All: Latina Activist Efforts to Strengthen Democracy in 2018
Maria HinojosaWhat Black Women Teach Us About Democracy
Andra Gillespie and Nadia E. BrownEngines of Democracy: Racial Justice and Cultural Power
Rashad RobinsonCivic and Environmental Education: Protecting the Planet and Our Democracy
Judy BrausThe Supreme Court''s Legitimacy Crisis and Constitutional Democracy’s Future
Dawn JohnsenPart III. Policy ChallengesCan Democracy Survive the Internet?
David HicktonThe New New Deal: How to Reregulate Capitalism
Robert KuttnerFirst Understand Why They''re Winning: How to Save Democracy from the Anti-Immigrant
Far Right
Sasha Polakow-SuranskyNo Time Left: How the System Is Failing to Address Our Ultimate Crisis
Bill McKibbenPowering Democracy Through Clean Energy
Denise G. FairchildThe Long Crisis: American Foreign Policy Before and After Trump
Jessica Tuchman MathewsPart IV. Who Acts, and How? The Case for Strong Government
William S. BeckerThe States
Nick RathodDemocracy in a Struggling Swing State
Amy HanauerCan Independent Voters Save American Democracy? Why 42 Percent of American Voters Are Independent and How They Can Transform Our Political System
Jaqueline Salit and Thom ReillyPhilanthropy and Democracy
Stephen B. HeintzKeeping the Republic
Dan MoulthropThe Future of Democracy
Mayor Ras BarakaBuilding a University Where All People Matter
Michael M. Crow, William B. Dabars, and Derrick M. AndersonBiophilia and Direct Democracy
Timothy BeatleyPurpose-Driven Capitalism
Mindy LubberRestoring Democracy: Nature''s Trust, Human Survival, and Constitutional Fiduciary Governance 397
Mary Christina WoodConclusion
Ganesh Sitaraman