Democracy

The New Politics of Hope

Where Trump whipped up faith in authoritarianism, Sanders revived hope in collective action. Sustaining that vision of social progress is the central task of the left today.

  • Ronald Aronson

After Trump

A pluralistic democracy is built on debate, disagreement, and wakeful action. This forum begins the conversation.

  • Joshua Cohen
with responses from
  • Janice Fine
  • Judith Levine
  • Robin D. G. Kelley
  • Christopher Petrella
  • William Howell
  • Nick Bromell

Voter Discrimination Starts Well Before Election Day

Voter ID laws burden minorities, but discrimination starts well before they reach the voting booth.

  • Ariel White

Real Citizens

Trump shows us that populism is not the same as legitimate protest—or democracy.

  • Jan-Werner Müller

Bad News for Brazilian Democracy

Dilma Rousseff's impeachment circumvented the democratic process.

  • Gianpaolo Baiocchi

Confronting Religious Revivalism

Liberal democracy requires that we banish religion from politics.

  • Assaf Sharon
  • Avishai Margalit
with responses from
  • Michael Walzer
  • Avishai Margalit & Assaf Sharon

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Great Exploitations

States are stealing from orphans to pad their budgets. And it's legal.

  • Erik Loomis

What Does Black Lives Matter Want?

The ideas in the movement’s new manifesto would enrich our practice of democracy.

  • Robin D. G. Kelley

Do Government Incentives Make Us Bad Citizens?

Government incentives may make us less moral, not more.

  • John McMahon

Who’s to Blame in South Sudan?

The country needs a political rebirth.

  • Mahmood Mamdani

That Lonesome Whistle

Edward Snowden’s actions can be justified, but not as civil disobedience.

  • Candice Delmas

What We Owe Each Other

Egalitarianism requires not just redistribution but equal social standing.

  • Martin O’Neill

The Brazilian Coup’s Image Problem

New leaks prove the impeachment is intended to protect corrupt politicians.

  • Gianpaolo Baiocchi

Rights vs. Duties

In the age of human rights, the language of duties has withered.

  • Samuel Moyn

Should the Middle Class Fear the World’s Poor?

Plutocracy, not global competition, harms the middle class.

  • Marshall Steinbaum

What Is Education For?

Above all, preparing students for civic and political engagement.

  • Danielle Allen
with responses from
  • Carlos Fraenkel
  • Deborah Meier
  • Michel DeGraff
  • Debra Satz
  • Lelac Almagor
  • Jeffrey Aaron Snyder
  • Lucas Stanczyk
  • Rob Reich
  • Clint Smith

Out with the Old, in with the Old

Lessons from Iceland’s brush with the Panama Papers.

  • Janet Elise Johnson

For Love of Country

Is emotion the key to the good society?

  • Shivani Radhakrishnan

The New Nature

It is impossible to divorce nature from human influence. Can that influence be democratic?

  • Jedediah Britton-Purdy
with responses from
  • Jo Guldi
  • Jairus Grove
  • Robert Paarlberg
  • Andreas Malm
  • David Keith
  • Anna Tsing
  • Ugo Mattei
  • Vandana Shiva
  • Paul Waldau
  • Roy Scranton

The Riptide of Technocracy

Is a centralized European Union compatible with democracy?

  • Jonathan White

The Limits of Criminal Justice Reform

Reducing prison populations isn’t enough. We need a new criminal system founded on priniciples of justice rather than fear of crime.

  • Joseph Margulies

In Memory of Sheldon Wolin (1922–2015)

The revolutionary theorist sought not liberal stability but democratic adventure.

  • Anne Norton

Reliable Rebel

Jeremy Corbyn and the Revival of the Radical Left

  • Martin O’Neill

The People’s Technocracy

But do transparency and smarter government have the power to effect major changes?

  • Andrew Mayersohn
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