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Reviews
How Democracies Die: What History Reveals About Our Future by Daniel Ziblatt, Steven Levitsky
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 The only outdated part are the final chapters, which talk about events occurring in 2018.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.
bethanyclarkvt's review
5.0
I am proud that this is the first book I read in the new year. Admittedly, this is very close to what I studied in school and want to do with my life, but the parallels drawn by Levitsky and Ziblatt are vital to understanding what is happening in our country and what could happen. Even having studied the break down of democracies worldwide, I did not make the connections between what happened elsewhere and the various points in our history where democracy was weak or merely a facade.
I recommend this book to anyone with any interest in current events or politics, children of history, concerned citizens, anyone. Many people in social media compare today's events to "pre-Hitler Germany" or Germany's descent into fascism. What we forget is that in the last decade there are numerous other descents into dictatorships that have happened very close to our own borders. Looking at events in Latin America in the last century and what is happening in Poland, Hungary, and Turkey as we speak, Levitsky and Ziblatt really opened my eyes.
They also provided me with brand new vocabulary to describe polarization and the breakdown of what we expect our politicians to do and how we expect them to act. And it was easy to read, compelling, not too academic, and not bogged down in endnotes. I cannot recommend this book enough.
I recommend this book to anyone with any interest in current events or politics, children of history, concerned citizens, anyone. Many people in social media compare today's events to "pre-Hitler Germany" or Germany's descent into fascism. What we forget is that in the last decade there are numerous other descents into dictatorships that have happened very close to our own borders. Looking at events in Latin America in the last century and what is happening in Poland, Hungary, and Turkey as we speak, Levitsky and Ziblatt really opened my eyes.
They also provided me with brand new vocabulary to describe polarization and the breakdown of what we expect our politicians to do and how we expect them to act. And it was easy to read, compelling, not too academic, and not bogged down in endnotes. I cannot recommend this book enough.
scott_h_119's review against another edition
5.0
Along with “On Tyranny” this book is a must-read for restoring American democracy.
robbydeshazer's review
4.0
It is not the fault of the authors that they wrote this prior to J6, but it does make this book age poorly. The research of the earlier sections are good. I wish the writers had been a little more critical of neoliberalism.