Congratulations on your important, well researched and timely book. This is a clarion warning call that our democracy is under severe threat ad may collapse. If you don't read the book, please watch this 1-hour video. Outstanding.
These two guys have an important message. But just too awkward to listen to with Google’s new, loud “interruption marketing” techniques. Too many ads in mid-sentence. RU-vid used to be a fabulous website before Google bought it in 2006. It was totally free and a much nicer community, overall. It’s just another noisy advertising platform now. Talk about loss of democracy.
Democracy was already severely weakend in the USA by the influence bought by the Super Rich Billionaires and the forced Neo-Liberal Economic Policies of the past 40 years, Government in the US only works for the Interests of the Super Rich and the College Educated Socially and Economically Liberal Upper Middle Class and you wonder why Democracy has lost legitimacy, you also live within your own Bubble, bring back the Economically Progressive New Deal Policies that were in place before 1980, recreate the large Middle Class and support for Popular Democracy.
Northern and southern whites were able to reconcile their differences after the American civil war by turning their backs on racial equality. Thank you for making the point. This has been thoroughly documented and discussed in reference to the "Lost Cause" narrative America settled on after reconstruction. We are still living under that delusion today and it is very easy to draw a straight line from that to Trumpism.
id like to explore the clash between identifying as a democratic nation, and the historical 'reality' of america as a evolving empire..wondering if the ideal of democracy is tainted by the concurrent demand and authorities of any empire...-indicated by much of Americans foreign policy and how citizens interact locally, such as making demands for more freedoms and equality... does the demands of empire (see British and other empires as examples) basically threaten actual full fledged democracy principles?
This debated ended with a very optimistic message. I think the outspoken students from the mass shooting in Florida on February 14 may become the new leadership Americans crave since the cheeseburger in chief is busy tweeting.
Solid presentation for an excellent book. Particularly I give props for pointing out how hard it is to resist without losing forbearance. Frankly one of the most consistently enraging parts of an engaging book has been the emphasis on "soft guard rails," that tradition and respect keep a democracy function. And they do...right until the moment when one side decides they _don't_ and that is frustrating. A lot can be lost and when the cause is diagnosed as "we could have fixed it _but that would have been realllllllly haaaaaaaard_ " I know I get angry. Issues that are often glossed over as "morally peripheral" can become literal life and death for them caught in the consequences. These days when I think Centrist Democrats I don't think "Wheelers and New Dealers" I think "Mediocre players of a obviously flawed game who lack the spine to fix the rules" and until they can get past themselves they're not going to be reliable allies to anyone else.
Sadly, this does not sound like a sophisticated analysis of the very serious challenges we face. Maybe the book is more impressive than these two; it's hard to say, not having read it yet. The problem, as I see it at least, is that we have an elite that has lost the respect and confidence of the working class. After listening to these two Harvard professors, I'm more convinced than ever that the elite remain afflicted with a terminal case of tin ear.
Your comment shows how deaf you are to these Harvard professors' analyses. You are JUST the kind of person who needs to read their book. (I have.) Demagogues (like Trump) prey on peoples' fears of "political elites", just so. The best politicians ARE "elite"--that is, exceptional in key ways: well educated, worldly, intelligent and bright--and both idealistic AND realistic. In fact, all our Founding Fathers were "elites." (Washington was born poor, but self-educated, extremely ambitious but, in the words of the FF, "disinterested," i.e., he harnessed his ambitions sufficiently to serve the country.) Today, we need to ask ourselves: What is an "elite"? And does that label mean such a person is undemocratic? My contention is that it is not the "elites" in politics that have let Americans down, but the corruption in politics by the vast infusion of money that have given corporations and powerful (and anti-elitist) organizations (such as the N.R.A.) and their paid lobbyists the power to corrupt the system. Autocrats like Trump draw their power from marshaling popular anger against so-called "elites" to deflect them from the real problem (Big Money)--and Trump has leap-frogged from that to now branding his opponents "traitors." Before you accuse these professors of sounding unsophisticated, you need to question the populist terms and beliefs you are taking for granted, and consider their analysis, based on history, which may require a little research into the same history in which these guys are expert.
What do you base that conclusion on? I'm not disagreeing that globalization came without provisions for the working class, but not sure how linking in analysis by these gentlemen to 'elites', which is a broad and unclassifiable segment to begin with, disrespecting the working class fits.
I started panicking at 18:30 when they start listing all the legal powers Trump has, but then remembered Trump only watches Fox & Friends so we are safe.
Interesting how the second speaker exclusively lays the blame at the feet of one and only one party. Not exactly an integrated picture. (Hint: who "Borked" Bork? who "linched" Thomas? and who has overplayed identity politics in urban centers?)
The system of government in the US is a Republic not really a true democracy per se. Derived mostly from the Roman republic way of government with some ancient greek influence. The Roman dictator appointed for 2 years out of the councils is the American president/commander in chief who may rule for 2 terms. On top of that the system casts aside the most important democratic principle: the majority rules. As long as the system allows for a minority (3 mill less votes for Trump than for Clinton) to highjack the presidency legally and a farm boy from Wyoming’s vote is worth 6 times the voting power a farm boy from California has, the system is bound for collapse at anytime. I, by the way live in Israel now the only democracy in the middle east surviving for the last 71 years and dismissed as non existent by one of the writers... Last but not least: i am a strong Trump supporter but always held very liberal/democratic views on many matters. Thank you for raising all these fascinating issues. IB
I just love it.. country already in Perril but arrogant Americans on this meeting seems to have soooo much fun..... Trump came TO STAY!! Forever! Still feel funny ?????
