Social Democracy

This book details the destructive flawed foundations of Democracy, destroying the mythology behind the innovated political system which has become a valued religion to many voters and politicians. Diabolical Democracy Debunked also suggests a morally superior political system as an alternative to Democracy.

South African politics is riddled with delusions. Many common political arguments come pre-packaged in an old and dusty box - but the self-evident truths are not, in fact, so indisputable. Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh sets out to dismantle that box. He argues that free education is far from impossible, the ANC's liberation narrative is too idyllic to swallow, land reform is not the first step to chaos, and the media is not free....

When cybersecurity expert Jake Braun challenged hackers at DEFCON, the largest hacking conference in the world, to breach the security of an American voting machine, a hacker in Europe conquered the task in less than two minutes. From hacking into voting machines to more mundane, but no less serious problems, America's democracy faces unprecedented tests from within and without.

First he considers moments in history - Periclean Athens, the English Civil War, the American and French Revolutions, among them - in which the challenges we face today were first encountered and what solutions, however imperfect, were found. Then he lays bare the specific problems of democracy in the 21st century and maps out a set of urgently needed reforms. With the advent of authoritarian leaders and the simultaneous rise of populism, representative democracy appears to be caught between a rock and a hard place, yet it is this space that it must occupy, says Grayling, if a civilised society that looks after all its people is to flourish.

In Educational Pluralism and American Democracy, education policy expert Ashley Rogers Berner envisions a K-12 education system that serves both the individual and the common good. Calling for education reform that will enable US public schools to fulfill the longstanding promise of American education, Berner proposes a radical reimagining of both the structure and content of US public school systems. She urges policymakers to embrace educational pluralism, an internationally common model in which the government funds diverse types of schools that deliver more universal content.

Famed journalist, satirist, and cultural critic Henry Louis (H. L.) Mencken is known as the chief heretic of the American civic religion for a reason. From the corruption of politicians to the dangers of mob rule, Mencken explores the pitfalls of democracy with his trademark irreverence and insight. In our age of demagogues, Notes on Democracy is as relevant today as it was nearly a century ago.

How Free Speech Saved Democracy is a revealing reminder that First Amendment rights have often been curtailed in efforts to block progress, and that current measures to reduce hurtful language and to end hate speech could backfire on those who promote them.

In this book, America's favorite satirists take you into a world you might have thought was beyond parody—politics. From closed-door meetings of bureaucrats deciding the fates of millions to preposterous lies from the campaign trail, The Bee skewers our political overlords with matchless wit. In this guide, you’ll learn how to rig an election, how to stage an insurrection, which political party you should join, and more—everything you need to fully participate in the worst political system of all time (except for all the others).

The United States wasn't built as a democracy. The Senate doesn't represent people. Both sides hate gerrymandering and the courts refuse to fix it. Our right to be heard is defeated by voter suppression and an Electoral College system that concentrates power in a handful of states and too often reverses the popular vote. But within our flawed system, we have the tools to tackle our most stubborn election problems by flexing state and local power (no constitutional amendments or courts required).

This authoritative and passionate primer on the three branches of government reveals the changes - political, cultural, constitutional, technological, institutional - that render our government completely dysfunctional, and the urgent need to fix our democracy before it's too late. If you've been watching the news and worrying that our democracy no longer works, this book will help you understand why you're right. There is colossal concentration of power in the presidency.

From 1953 to 1969, the Supreme Court under Chief Justice Earl Warren brought about many of the proudest achievements of American constitutional law. The Warren Court declared racial segregation and laws forbidding interracial marriage to be unconstitutional; it expanded the right of citizens to criticize public officials; it held school prayer unconstitutional; and it ruled that people accused of a crime must be given a lawyer even if they can't afford one. Yet conservative critics have fiercely accused the justices of the Warren Court of abusing their authority....

Have lawmakers helped themselves while helping the country? After the nation's financial crisis led Congress to unprecedented economic intervention, The Washington Post began an investigation that pierced the secrecy of the deeply flawed financial disclosure system that governs the 535 men and women who draft the nation's laws. Members of Congress directed millions of dollars to infrastructure projects near their residences and businesses, in some cases paving roads in front of their houses.

Democracy is, by its very nature, often rude. But there are limits to how uncivil we should be. In the 2010 edition of Rude Democracy, Susan Herbst explored the ways we discuss public policy, how we treat each other as we do, and how we can create a more civil national culture. She used the examples of Sarah Palin and Barack Obama to illustrate her case. In a new preface for this 2020 edition, the author connects her book to our current highly contentious politics and what it means for the future of democratic argument.

The problems of the 21st century are of unprecedented scale. Climate change, financial instability, the housing crisis, the need for health care: all of these are political issues that could be managed with ease on a much smaller scale. But with an enormous global population, that kind of change is no longer an option.

In an era when democracy is at critical risk, is it reasonable to expect the education system, already buckling under the ordeal of a global pandemic, to solve the converging problems of inequality, climate change, and erosion of trust in government and science? Will more civics instruction help? In Can Schools Save Democracy? Michael J. Feuer offers a new approach to addressing these questions with a strategy for improving the process and substance of civic education.

Die offenen Gesellschaften des Westens sind bedroht, durch autoritäre, äußere Gegner, aber auch durch rechte, linke und religiöse Fundamentalisten im Inneren. Jahrzehntelang hat man radikale Minderheiten unterschätzt, durch Migration ins Land gelassen, teilweise mit einem Mulikulti-Mäntelchen kaschiert. Aber sie tolerieren nicht, wodurch sie groß geworden sind: Meinungsfreiheit und Gleichheit Aller. Identitäre von rechts und von links vergiften das öffentliche Klima, Antisemiten und Staatsfeinde haben die Masken abgeworfen.

Reporting on news-impoverished areas in the US and around the world, America's premier media critic, Margaret Sullivan, charts the contours of the damage but also surveys some new efforts to keep local news alive - from nonprofit digital sites to an effort modeled on the Peace Corps. No nostalgic paean to the roar of rumbling presses, Ghosting the News instead sounds a loud alarm, alerting citizens to the growing crisis in local news that has already done serious damage.

Editor and investigative reporter Jefferson Morley has been widely published in national periodicals and is the author of the critically acclaimed nonfiction work Our Man in Mexico. An eye-opening look at Washington’s first race riot, Snow-Storm in August also offers revealing profiles of Arthur Bowen, the slave blamed for the riot, and “Star Spangled Banner” lyricist Francis Scott Key, a defender of slavery who sought capital punishment for Bowen.

A beacon of hope in times of division, Breaking the Cycle calls to those who believe in a united America—where justice and equality are not just ideals, but realities. Through a deep analysis of racial injustice, economic inequality, and political instability, this book offers a strategic guide to addressing these interconnected challenges through informed collective action.

Written by fifty-five of the richest white men, and signed by only thirty-nine of them, the US constitution is the sacred text of American nationalism. Popular perceptions of it are mired in idolatry, myth, and misinformation—many Americans have opinions on the constitution but have little idea what it says. This book examines the constitution for what it is—a rule book for elites to protect capitalism from democracy.