Democracy Unchained

A stellar group of America's leading political thinkers explore how to reboot our democracy

The 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