Democracy
Democracy for Losers
Some candidates who lose elections strengthen democracy, but others threaten the democratic system itself.
Climate Change’s New Ally: Big Finance
Huge investors like BlackRock are forcing corporations to take action on emissions. But what does their power mean for democracy?
A New Age of Protest Music
Through online fan communities and digital platforms like TikTok, popular music is finding powerful new ways to shape everyday activism, protest, and resistance.
The Unfinished Project of Enlightenment
What Jürgen Habermas’s sweeping history of Western philosophy leaves out.
The Privilege of the Ally
Allies can be powerful aides to social justice movements—but it is their responsibility to make sure they don’t become a distraction from the cause.
Without Women There Is No Democracy
On the hundreth anniversary of suffrage, it’s time for gender equity in political office.
How Civic Organizations Are Helping to Fight COVID-19
Nonprofits have proven to be critical links in the nation’s public health infrastructure, but even those with mandates unrelated to health and poverty relief are turning out to be integral to their communities’ survival.
In Toronto, Google’s Attempt to Privatize Government Fails—For Now
Sidewalk Labs would have turned a large plot of Toronto’s public land into a private lab for data collection. Cities need better digital governance to protect against such attempts.
Technocracy After COVID-19
Crisis management only blurs ever more the boundary between politics and technical expertise.
COVID-19 Requires More Democracy, Not Less
We must take very seriously the responsibility to judge our leaders’ policies. When they fail us, we must act as leaders ourselves.
Reclaiming Populism
A political appeal to “the people” is a central element of democratic societies. Can we imagine a revitalized, multiracial populist politics today?
Body Politics
What does solidarity look like when our bodies cannot come together, in public, to agitate for a better world?
Can More Political Parties Fix American Democracy?
Some think it would cure two-party gridlock. But what works in parliamentary governments might not help in our presidential system.
No, Autocracies Aren’t Better for Public Health
Some have praised China’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but its suppression of information helped cause the problem in the first place.
How to Mend Our Broken Electoral Process
We must institute a method of electing a president that is sensitive to the votes of Americans everywhere.
The Robots Are Coming
Rumors of thinking robots are greatly exaggerated. Still, we cannot leave decisions about even lesser AI in the hands of those who stand to profit from its use.
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