Renewal

From the world-renowned philosopher and bestselling author of Justice and The Tyranny of Merit, a galvanizing agenda that challenges everyone dismayed by our polarized condition to rethink their political vision as we head into the 2028 presidential race.

Our civic life is not going very well. Public discourse is a foul brew of insult, outrage, and tired talking points. Politicians shout past each other without really listening. Fierce partisanship is nothing new; but today, political rancor seeps into social relations and everyday life. Parents now worry less about their children marrying outside the faith than marrying across party lines.

The renowned political philosopher Michael J. Sandel has a solution. Our democracy is in danger for two reasons, he argues. One is the authoritarian ambition of Trump’s presidency. The other is the failure of Trump’s opponents to offer a compelling response to the grievances that propelled him to the presidency and that continue to sustain his support.

In Renewal: How to Heal a Divided Country, Sandel offers an agenda for change to deliver us from our dangerous political moment. With characteristic clarity and resonance, he calls for a new politics of the common good: an economic populism that challenges unaccountable power and inequalities of wealth, voice, and dignity, and a project of moral and civic renewal that speaks convincingly of patriotism, community, and belonging.

Clearheaded and practical yet conceptually rich, Renewal seeks to recast the terms of political debate as Americans set off into the treacherous terrain of the 2028 presidential race. Touted by The New York Times as "the closest thing political philosophy has to a rock star," Sandel has returned with yet another essential book for our time, and for the times ahead: a project of renewal for everyone concerned with our polarized condition and the peril it poses for democracy.