If we can keep it : how the republic collapsed and how it might be saved / Michael Tomasky.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Tomasky, Michael, 1960- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Political culture--United States.

Political culture.

Politics and government.

Polarization (Social sciences).

United States.

Polarization (Social sciences)--Political aspects--United States.

Political participation--United States.

Political participation.

United States--Politics and government--21st century.

Physical Description:

xxvii, 273 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Other Title:

How the republic collapsed and how it might be saved

Place of Publication:

New York : Liveright Publishing Corporation, [2019]

Summary:

"Why has American politics fallen into such a state of horrible dysfunction? Can it ever be fixed? These are the questions that motivate Michael Tomasky's deeply original examination into the origins of our hopelessly polarized nation. [Political commentator] Tomasky ranges across centuries and disciplines to show how America has almost always had two dominant parties that are existentially, and often violently, opposed. When he turns to our current era, he does so with striking insight that will challenge readers to reexamine what they thought they knew. Finally, not content merely to diagnose these problems, Tomasky offers a provocative agenda for how we can help fix our broken political system -- from ranked-choice voting and at-large congressional elections to expanding high school civics education nationwide. Combining revelatory data with trenchant analysis, Tomasky tells us how the nation broke apart and points us toward a more hopeful political future." -- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

1 The True History of Our Not-Very-Representative Democracy p. 1

2 We Were Always Polarized p. 25

3 America in the Age of Consensus p. 61

4 Coming Apart p. 93

5 More Consumers Than Citizens p. 123

6 From Gingrich to Trump-the System Explodes p. 153

7 If We Can Keep It: A Fourteen-Point Agenda to Reduce Polarization p. 189.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781631494086

1631494082

OCLC:

1073033877