Democracy Unchained

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 Contents



Foreword





Introduction



David W. Orr

Part I. The Crisis of Democracy



Populism and Democracy



Yascha Mounk



Reconstructing Our Constitutional Democracy



K. Sabeel Rahman



Restoring Healthy Party Competition



Jacob S. Hacker and Paul Pierson



When Democracy Becomes Something Else: The Problem of Elections and What to Do About It



Andrew Gumbel



The Best Answer to Money in Politics After Citizens United: Public Campaign Financing in the Empire State and Beyond



Chisun Lee



Remaking the Presidency After Trump



Jeremi Suri



The Problem of Presidentialism



Stephen Skowronek

Part II. Foundations of Democracy



Renewing the American Democratic Faith



Steven C. Rockefeller



American Land, American Democracy



Eric Freyfogle



Race and Democracy: The Kennedys, Obama, Trump, and Us



Michael Eric Dyson



Liberty and Justice for All: Latina Activist Efforts to Strengthen Democracy in 2018



Maria Hinojosa



What Black Women Teach Us About Democracy



Andra Gillespie and Nadia E. Brown



Engines of Democracy: Racial Justice and Cultural Power



Rashad Robinson



Civic and Environmental Education: Protecting the Planet and Our Democracy



Judy Braus



The Supreme Court's Legitimacy Crisis and Constitutional Democracy's Future



Dawn Johnsen

Part III. Policy Challenges



Can Democracy Survive the Internet?



David Hickton



The New New Deal: How to Reregulate Capitalism



Robert Kuttner



First Understand Why They're Winning: How to Save Democracy from the Anti-Immigrant





Far Right



Sasha Polakow-Suransky



No Time Left: How the System Is Failing to Address Our Ultimate Crisis



Bill McKibben



Powering Democracy Through Clean Energy



Denise G. Fairchild



The Long Crisis: American Foreign Policy Before and After Trump



Jessica Tuchman Mathews

Part IV. Who Acts, and How?



The Case for Strong Government



William S. Becker



The States



Nick Rathod



Democracy in a Struggling Swing State



Amy Hanauer



Can 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 Reilly



Philanthropy and Democracy



Stephen B. Heintz



Keeping the Republic



Dan Moulthrop



The Future of Democracy



Mayor Ras Baraka



Building a University Where All People Matter



Michael M. Crow, William B. Dabars, and Derrick M. Anderson



Biophilia and Direct Democracy



Timothy Beatley



Purpose-Driven Capitalism



Mindy Lubber



Restoring Democracy: Nature's Trust, Human Survival, and Constitutional Fiduciary Governance 397



Mary Christina Wood



Conclusion



Ganesh Sitaraman