democracy
How the dream of a Judeo-Christian America shaped the culture wars
Healan Gaston excavates a label that has both divided and united us.
The crumbling myth of American exceptionalism
To believe that moral values and virtuous leadership are self-enforcing is to fool ourselves.
At the US Capitol, pro-Trump extremists laid siege to democracy
Democracy is fragile. But the things that make it fragile are the same things that give it power.
Rock star Yuri Shevchuk imagines an anti-nationalist Russian democracy
The performances of his band, DDT, are like teach-ins.
How Heather Cox Richardson looks to the past for hope
The “Letters from an American” author provides historical context for today’s threats to democracy.
Political attacks on the US Postal Service threaten more than just the mail
Democracy, equality, and opportunity are at risk.
Wisconsin’s voting problems began long before the pandemic
Those in power have been working for years to prevent votes from counting.
In the Radical Listening Project, Carol Gilligan’s work has found its voice
The psychologist’s new project makes explicit the moral imperative that has animated her work for decades.
In Ireland, a Citizens’ Assembly helped shape public policy. Could it work here?
Cultivating a democracy that deliberates
Populism and who it’s for
What does it take for people to get mobilized for the common good?
Facebook’s problems are much deeper than “bad actors”
Bad for democracy, good for business
Jill Lepore’s book is the civics course Americans need
At the heart of her narrative is the fate of two political ideals: liberty and popular sovereignty.
Is our democracy doomed to become more and more exclusionary?
Benjamin Page and Martin Gilens offer a discouraging diagnosis—and some specific remedies.
Marilynne Robinson's beautiful, cranky nonfiction
Robinson's essays are sometimes tedious. Yet they provide glimpses of the capacious faith undergirding her novels.
Is Trump a deviation from American values or an expression of them?
E. J. Dionne, Norman Ornstein, and Thomas Mann see this presidency as a distortion of the country's character. But what if it's the opposite?
Marilynne Robinson's vision for democracy
Critics are correct that Robinson doesn't offer an alternative to the Christian Right. But she never claimed to.
The way out of partisan gerrymandering
Beyond the current Supreme Court case, there are deeper problems—and possible solutions.
Trump and our damaged public character
There is a crisis of moral norms in America. The president is part symptom and part cause.