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The Great Experiment: Why Diverse Democracies Fall Apart and How They Can Endure by Yascha Mounk
catherine888's review
4.0
Not much is new in this book and it’s really quite simplistic. Personally, I would have liked a methodology section, more data, and heftier theoretical background. But I think the reason for a generous rating is precisely because I know how difficult it is to simplify and present complex topics in an accessible manner.
Overall message of the book is timely and Mounk is able to retain a good level of nuance considering the fact that a 10th grader could probably get through this. His examples might be simplistic, but he doesn’t make any truly false claims from what I can tell. As well, considering his qualifications, I trust that he is not skewing reality to fit his argument.
Not the most fascinating book I’ve read on politics, but let’s be real: he takes a more balanced approach than most writers and does it all in under 300 pages.
Bonus points for having the guts to challenge mainstream leftist discourse and actually persuade me to think more optimistically about democratic futures. If we are going to have “a meaningfully shared life” then it has to start with publishing books that the average person can understand, even if they do oversimplify the issue a bit.
Overall message of the book is timely and Mounk is able to retain a good level of nuance considering the fact that a 10th grader could probably get through this. His examples might be simplistic, but he doesn’t make any truly false claims from what I can tell. As well, considering his qualifications, I trust that he is not skewing reality to fit his argument.
Not the most fascinating book I’ve read on politics, but let’s be real: he takes a more balanced approach than most writers and does it all in under 300 pages.
Bonus points for having the guts to challenge mainstream leftist discourse and actually persuade me to think more optimistically about democratic futures. If we are going to have “a meaningfully shared life” then it has to start with publishing books that the average person can understand, even if they do oversimplify the issue a bit.
wittenberg's review
4.0
An interesting thesis: There has never been a diverse democracy with reasonable equality, and it may not be possible for one to exist. He doesn't count the US, as we had nothing close to equality until at least the Civil Rights Acts of the 1960s, and the "Make America Great Again" movement is trying to return to some (non-existent) bygone era in which Blacks were legally inferior.
He makes a very persuasive case in a short well written book. I'm only giving it 4 stars because his final chapter, where he tries to be optimistic is unconvincing.
He makes a very persuasive case in a short well written book. I'm only giving it 4 stars because his final chapter, where he tries to be optimistic is unconvincing.
bootman's review
5.0
This was the first book I’ve read from Yascha Mounk, and I’m a fan. This was a really interesting book with a fresh take on issues going on in the United States as well as other democratic countries. Yascha Mounk starts by telling the story about how he was speaking somewhere and said “The Great Experiment” isn’t working, and he got some backlash. Basically, he discusses how the diversity of all these different cultures mixing together leads to problems we never really considered or planned for, and this is still kind of new.
As a psychology nerd, what I really liked was how Mounk starts out by explaining how we’re naturally tribal and the research that explains why that is like the minimal group paradigm research. He then dives into a ton of different issues we face while also providing stories from around the world, which educated me quite a bit and let me know that this isn’t uniquely American. Many of the issues he discusses and his diagnosis were some things I haven’t considered, so it was pretty enlightening.
Finally, I think he ended the book incredibly. He discussed the “chapter 10 dilemma”, which is when authors tackle big issues and big ideas in a book, but there aren’t easy fixes. So, he lays out some ideas that are pretty well thought out. Overall, I highly recommend the book, and I’ll probably start reading some more of his stuff soon.
As a psychology nerd, what I really liked was how Mounk starts out by explaining how we’re naturally tribal and the research that explains why that is like the minimal group paradigm research. He then dives into a ton of different issues we face while also providing stories from around the world, which educated me quite a bit and let me know that this isn’t uniquely American. Many of the issues he discusses and his diagnosis were some things I haven’t considered, so it was pretty enlightening.
Finally, I think he ended the book incredibly. He discussed the “chapter 10 dilemma”, which is when authors tackle big issues and big ideas in a book, but there aren’t easy fixes. So, he lays out some ideas that are pretty well thought out. Overall, I highly recommend the book, and I’ll probably start reading some more of his stuff soon.