Social Democracy

Long praised as the pinnacle of political progress, democracy is often wrapped in symbols of freedom, choice, and justice. Yet beneath its familiar rituals lies a system vulnerable to manipulation, co-opted by hidden powers, and sustained by illusions more than truths. This book challenges the comforting narratives that shield modern democracies from scrutiny. It explores how institutions built to serve the people can be quietly steered by elites, how media and technology mask control with noise, and how conformity, not violence, becomes the most effective tool of domination.

America is under attack. Its institutions and values are under daily assault. But the principal culprits are not foreign terrorists. They are influential and powerful Americans secretly stirring up disunion and disloyalty in the shifting shadows of the Democratic Party. Radical infiltrators have been quietly transforming America's societal, cultural, and political institutions for more than a generation. Now, backed by George Soros, they are ready to make their move.

"Restoring Our Vote" by Sage Ellison is a compelling guide that empowers communities to reclaim the Voting Rights Act and enhance democratic engagement. Recognizing the disillusionment many feel toward the electoral system, the book presents actionable strategies to combat the erosion of voting rights.

Since the end of World War II, democracies typically fell apart by coup d'état or through force. Today, however, they are increasingly eroding at the hands of democratically elected incumbents, who seize control by slowly chipping away at democratic institutions. To better understand these developments, this book examines the role of personalist political parties, or parties that exist primarily to further their leader's career as opposed to promote a specific policy platform.

Learn about how the dichotomous twins of idealism and pragmatism, of freedom and power, and of hope and fear are pitched against each other, wrestling for the future of Cambodia. This is Cambodia through the lens of human stories in what journalists and politicians have called 'gripping', 'a tour de force' and 'a must read'.

In this powerful, sweeping history and analysis of American democracy, Thom Hartmann shows how democracy is the one form of governance most likely to produce peace and happiness among people. With the violent exception of the Civil War, American democracy resisted the pressure to disintegrate into factionalism for nearly two centuries, and now our very system of democratic elections is at stake. So how do we save our democracy?

Interventions, by Noam Chomsky, is getting new press after the Pentagon banned the book from Guantanamo Bay's prison library. Interventions is Noam Chomsky at his best. Not since his all-time best-selling title, 9/11, published in the Open Media series in 2001, have readers and listeners had a timely, short, affordable Chomsky. Unlike 9/11, Interventions is a writerly work - a series of more than 30 tightly argued essays aimed at various aspects of U.S. power and politics in the post-9/11 world. While critical of U.S. military interventions around the globe, each piece in the book is in itself an intellectual intervention.

America is teetering on the brink of a dramatic political shift—one that could send shockwaves across the globe and even risk triggering World War III. Marwan Julio Khadar draws unsettling parallels between today’s political turbulence in the United States and the rise of Nazi Germany. In his view, the question is no longer if America will turn toward fascism but when. The nation has entered what Khadar calls “The Eleventh Hour,” a moment of urgent reckoning as the clock ticks.

A crucial, clear-eyed assessment of what connects the two most influential moments of political violence in recent American history, and where we go from here.

In this tour de force essay, Hans-Hermann Hoppe turns the standard account of historical governmental progress on its head. While the state is an evil in all its forms, monarchy is, in many ways, far less pernicious than democracy. Hoppe shows the evolution of government away from aristocracy, through monarchy, and toward the corruption and irresponsibility of democracy to have been identical with the growth of the leviathan state.

In The Next Democracy, social entrepreneur Erdem Ovacik delivers a startlingly insightful discussion of a new collective governance model based on markets and data that can improve our wellbeing as individuals, and as a society. The author explains how we can develop the next generation of government that is data-driven, iterative, transparent, and that allows us to decentrally and directly make laws online using prediction markets and delegative voting.

Schau nicht nur zu! Wir sind nicht klüger als die Menschen, die erlebt haben, wie überall in Europa die Demokratie unterging und Faschismus, Nationalsozialismus und Kommunismus kamen. Aber einen Vorteil haben wir. Wir können aus ihren Erfahrungen lernen. 20 Lektionen aus dem 20. Jahrhundert: 1. Leiste keinen vorauseilenden Gehorsam. 2. Verteidige Institutionen. 3. Hüte dich vor dem Einparteienstaat. 4. Übernimm Verantwortung für das Antlitz der Welt. 5. Denk an deine Berufsehre. 6. Nimm dich in Acht vor Paramilitärs.

With The Wannabe Fascists, historian Federico Finchelstein offers a precise explanation of why Trumpism and similar movements across the world belong to a new political breed, the last outcome of the combined histories of fascism and populism: the wannabe fascists.

Democratic politics is expensive. In US presidential elections, for instance, total spending now exceeds $6.5 billion. In the US, election campaigns are largely funded by private donations from individuals and corporate entities, whereas in Germany, the state is the main funder of electoral politics through subventions to parties. In some other countries, parties have been able to raise most of what they need internally by charging membership dues or, more exceptionally, by relying on a wealthy patron.

Smedley D. Butler (1881–1940), the most decorated officer in U.S. military history, including two Medals of Honor, wrote a searing critique in War is a Racket. Drawing from his service in conflicts from the Spanish-American War to World War I, he exposed how wars enriched corporations, bankers, and industrialists while soldiers and civilians bore the devastating costs. With unflinching candor, Butler revealed the profiteering motives behind global conflicts, delivering a timeless call for peace.

"Democracy: The Political Tale" pulls listeners into an exciting exploration of government complexities, directed by the author's own intimate experiences with democracy and tyranny. Leaning upon real-life events, the account digs deep into the profound effects of being forced out from a dictatorship nation and thereafter growing up in a democracy. The striking distinction between these structures influences the author's thorough study of representative democracy.

Misinformation isn’t just noise—it’s a strategic weapon used to sway elections, distort reality, and weaken democracy. Democracy Unveiled exposes the tactics behind political manipulation, revealing how digital platforms, media bias, and psychological tricks shape public perception. This book breaks down real-world examples from the 2024 election cycle, illustrating the growing influence of disinformation and providing listeners with the tools to think critically, identify deception, and protect democratic values.

Thomas Paine was born in Great Britain; he came to America at the age of 37 for the first time. He is rightly considered to be the Anglo-American writer, philosopher, publicist, as well as "American godfather" for supporting separatist spirits and inspiring Americans to fight for their independence (at that very moment, the break between America and England was imminent). He described his thoughts in a wonderful tract Common Sense, that according to G. Washington, revolutionized the minds. Later, Thomas Paine's arguments were reflected in The Independence Declaration, written by Jefferson.

Many people take it for granted: Evangelicals are Republican, Democrats aren't religious, and moderate Christians may as well not exist. But it wasn't always this way. Those who grew up evangelical in the 1980s were just as likely to sit next to a Democrat as a Republican at church. What happened in the decades that followed? Data scientist Ryan Burge demystifies the recent polarization of American pews, helping listeners understand why the religious landscape has changed so much in the last fifty years and how this divide impacts every aspect of society.

Politics has never been more unpredictable. Radical populists and insurgents have turned politics-as-usual on its head. "Rebel" explores how we got here, where we are heading and what we can do about it. Douglas Carswell argues that these insurgencies are a reaction against the emergence of a political and economic oligarchy that has subverted our democracy and stifled our market system. "Politics," he writes, "is a cartel. Like the economy, it is rigged in the interests of a few."