“Uncompromising and unconventional . . . Cornel West is an eloquent prophet with attitude.” — Newsweek“
"A timely analysis about the current state of democratic systems in America." — The Boston Globe

In Democracy Matters, Cornel West argues that if America is to become a better steward of democratization around the world, we must first wake up to the long history of corruption...

"Here's something true for almost every American. The democracy you live in today is different, completely different, than the democracy born into. Since 1980, the number of Americans legally barred from voting has more than doubled. Since the 1990s, odds of living in a competitive Congressional district have fallen by more than half. In the twenty-first century alone, the amount of money spent on Washington lobbying has increased by more than 100...

"The House Republican leader who dared to take a stand against the January 6th insurrection, which she witnessed first-hand, and then helped lead the ensuing investigation, tells the story of this perilous moment in our history, the betrayal of the American people and the Constitution and the risks we still face."--

AMERICA IS UNIQUE. No other nation in the world has experienced the widespread levels of stability, individual prosperity, and personal freedoms that have defined this nation. What made us different from other nations? Was it the people, the principles, or the blessing of God? It was all three, and they caused America to become the most exceptional nation in the history of the world.

Our past is filled with captivating accounts of the brave

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"Anchored by an introduction by Jon Meacham, this concise collection of essays, letters, and poems from one of this country's most eminent literary voices sheds much-needed historical context on the state of the nation and offers a ray of hope for the future of our society; for "as long as there is one upright man, as long as there is one compassionate woman...the scene is not desolate.""--

"Americans have disabled the government's ability to solve even basic problems, making us vulnerable to the most dangerous demagogue ever to pretend to the White House. Kurt Andersen shows how the masterminds of the economic right rode an unprecedented wave of nostalgia by dressing up their harsh new rich-get-richer system in patriotic old-time drag, making it their mission to take over the government for their purposes alone and convincing the country...

"Donald Trump's presidency has raised a question that many of us never thought we'd be asking: Is our democracy in danger? Harvard professors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt have spent more than twenty years studying the breakdown of democracies in Europe and Latin America, and they believe the answer is yes. Democracy no longer ends with a bang--in a revolution or military coup--but with a whimper: the slow, steady weakening of critical institutions,...

"The congressman who led the first impeachment of Donald Trump, and who became the president's chief antagonist, presents an inside account of American democracy at its darkest hour and how its future is more uncertain than ever."--

"In the vein of On Tyranny and How Democracies Die, the bestselling author of Republic, Lost argues that our democracy no longer represents us and shows that reform is both necessary and possible"-- Lessig believes that along many dimensions, a single flaw-- unrepresentativeness-- has detached our government from the people. Our fractured partisanship and ignorance on critical issues drive our leaders to stake out ever more extreme positions. Here...

"Ben Tarnoff issues a rallying cry for a new, democratic internet. This means deprivatizing the network to create an internet where people, and not profit, rule"--