{"product_id":"9780062945723","title":"They Don't Represent Us : And Here's How They Could—A Blueprint for Reclaiming Our Democracy","description":"\u003cstrong\u003eThey Don't Represent Us\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor(s): Lawrence Lessig\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWITH A NEW AFTERWORD ABOUT THE 2020 ELECTION\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e“This urgent book offers not only a clear-eyed explanation of the forces that broke our politics, but a thoughtful and, yes, patriotic vision of how we create a government that’s truly by and for the people.”—DAVID DALEY, bestselling author of \u003cem\u003eRatf**ked\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eUnrigged\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIn the vein of \u003cem\u003eOn Tyranny\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eHow Democracies Die\u003c\/em\u003e, the bestselling author of \u003cem\u003eRepublic, Lost\u003c\/em\u003e argues with insight and urgency that our democracy no longer represents us and shows that reform is both necessary and possible.\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAmerica’s democracy is in crisis. Along many dimensions, a single flaw—unrepresentativeness—has detached our government from the people. And as a people, our fractured partisanship and ignorance on critical issues drive our leaders to stake out ever more extreme positions. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eThey Don’t Represent Us\u003c\/em\u003e, Harvard law professor Lawrence Lessig charts the way in which the fundamental institutions of our democracy, including our media, respond to narrow interests rather than to the needs and wishes of the nation’s citizenry. But the blame does not only lie with “them”—Washington’s politicians and power brokers, Lessig argues. The problem is also “us.” “We the people” are increasingly uninformed about the issues, while ubiquitous political polling exacerbates the problem, reflecting and normalizing our ignorance and feeding it back into the system as representative of our will.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhat we need, Lessig contends, is a series of reforms, from governmental institutions to the public itself, including:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA move immediately to public campaign funding, leading to more representative candidates\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA reformed Electoral College, that gives the President a reason to represent America as a whole\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA federal standard to end partisan gerrymandering in the states \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA radically reformed Senate\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA federal penalty on states that don’t secure to their people an equal freedom to vote\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eInstitutions that empower the people to speak in an informed and deliberative way\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003eA soul-searching and incisive examination of our failing political culture, this nonpartisan call to arms speaks to every citizen, offering a far-reaching platform for reform that could save our democracy and make it work for all of us.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReview(s):\u003cbr\u003e“An impassioned call to all Americans to fight for equal representation.”\u003cbr\u003e“This bracing report on the state of American politics offers valuable insights for the 2020 elections.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e“A thoughtful, illuminating, nonpartisan, and pragmatic analysis of the changes needed to restore power to the public… In this bold and compelling book, Lessig both scrutinizes the laws and forces that led us to this point and guides us towards visionary changes that can reset and restore our faith in our democracy. Given the complexities of the tasks at hand, this a must-read and a much-needed wake up call.”\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e“Lessig tells it with skill, citing a plethora of studies and historical examples to make a persuasive case about the unrepresentativeness of America’s political institutions.” \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e“Lessig paints a searing portrait of a defective political system that is nonetheless full of hope, community spirit, self-empowered individuals, and ways to fix what is broken.”\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Lessig is right that a representative American democracy, desirable in itself, would also solve most of the problems that now seem insoluble. It is hard to imagine a more thoughtful and appealing companion in the hard work to move our system to where it ought to be: in our own hands.”\u003cbr\u003e“Lessig, a leading proponent of campaign finance reform, now aims at something even bigger: fixing our broken system of representative democracy. This book is brimming with promising and provocative proposals to fix campaign finance, gerrymandering, the electoral college, the filibuster, and the mind-numbing effects of cable news and social media. It is a bold and bracing repair manual for government of, by, and for the people.”\u003cbr\u003e“Lessig is a modern-day Paul Revere with a warning we must heed: Our representative democracy no longer represents us. The change we need is deep and serious. And it can’t be fixed with by one election, party, or politician. This urgent book offers not only a clear-eyed explanation of the forces that broke our politics, but a thoughtful and, yes, patriotic vision of how we create a government that’s truly by and for the people. We ignore his alarm at our own peril.”\u003cbr\u003e“Everything Lessig writes should be carefully read. Read it, consider it, and most important, act on it. Our democracy is at stake.”\u003cbr\u003e“The American experiment in representative government is on life support. In his brilliant book, Lessig provides the medical record and a recommended course of care to save the patient.  Every American should read it ... stat!”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN:  9780062945723\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ","brand":"Dey Street Books","offers":[{"title":"Paperback \/ softback","offer_id":41143755636942,"sku":"9780062945723","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0600\/7029\/7806\/products\/9780062945723.jpg?v=1650867479","url":"https:\/\/pickwickbookshop.com\/products\/9780062945723","provider":"Pickwick Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}