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Reviews
How Democracies Die: What History Reveals About Our Future by Daniel Ziblatt, Steven Levitsky
cosmiclattereads's review
5.0
This book was very scary and enlightening to read. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in politics. It delves into the democracies of Latin America and Europe that fell to authoritarianism and how that happened. it then juxtaposed this with what is happening currently in the United States. It was scary to read. It also describes how the US can save itself from the descent into authoritarianism, and what can happen if we don't.
ftrprez's review
4.0
Excellent book comparing what has occurred the past 30-40 years in America to Democracies that have fallen and, in some cases, recovered, illuminating a path through these somewhat fraught times.
k8iedid's review
challenging
dark
informative
medium-paced
4.0
The template looks the same in almost every country. A stark warning.
deciasaid's review
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
This should be a required reading for every civics class in high school. Now, although it was published in 2018, a lot of concepts are timeless. The analysis of how democracies in other countries fell give us clues as to how to prevent it in the United States. The only outdated part are the final chapters, which talk about events occurring in 2018.
One criticism I have is that it focuses on how an individual politician can take advantage of democratic structures to create a fascist state. What makes the situation in the United States unique is that we have a techno-billionaire class that is influencing the government in pursuit of maximizing their profits (oligarchy). I wish the book addressed how capitalist systems are also a factor in the deterioration of democracy.
Despite that, this book is more important than ever considering the current political climate.
One criticism I have is that it focuses on how an individual politician can take advantage of democratic structures to create a fascist state. What makes the situation in the United States unique is that we have a techno-billionaire class that is influencing the government in pursuit of maximizing their profits (oligarchy). I wish the book addressed how capitalist systems are also a factor in the deterioration of democracy.
Despite that, this book is more important than ever considering the current political climate.