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A review by yevolem
How Democracies Die by Daniel Ziblatt, Steven Levitsky
2.0
The title is misleading and should properly be called, How American Democracy Could Die. This was apparently one of many books that were published during the Trump presidency that seem primarily to be for cashing in on his notoriety, though that may be simply be an overly cynical view from me. If I had known what this book was, I wouldn't have read it. That's my fault for not being more attentive.
While it does cover some interesting historical information about the failure of fledgling democracies, though often in a disingenuous and incurious way, it doesn't say much about how stable democracies fail, but rather how they could fail.
It does provide some examples of how some stable democracies have successfully met the challenges that could lead to the downfall of democracy. At the same time, it says the United States has failed these same challenges.
As for its political orientation, it'd say its biased in the favor of elites and the establishment regardless of affiliation. However, it also states that the failure of the elites and establishment are the greatest cause of democracy failing, far more than anything the voters could do. Gatekeepers are presented as the pinnacle of sustainable democratic society.
In this way it's certainly true to the Constitution, in that the people can't be trusted. The problem with democracy is that it becomes too democratic and subject to the vagaries of those who don't know better. While the book strenuously argues against authoritarianism, it only means the overt sort, as their ideal government would seem to be an entirely managed democracy. It's the sort that values stability above almost all else. Elections are fair and free, but change nothing, they're merely symbolic expressions of preference by the voters.
This isn't directly stated, though it is presented as just how things are in a realpolitik and pragmatic way by providing many examples of how important the elites, establishment, and especially gatekeepers are and how little the voters matter overall.
The proposed solutions at the end are as follows: The Republican party is told to give up on white nationalism and extreme free-market ideology. The Democratic party is told to focus on the material concerns of all citizens, not only minorities, and to abandon identity politics.
It was difficult for me to decide whether to rate this 2 or 3 stars, but eventually I decided on 2 stars because overall I don't recommend reading it.
Rating: 2.5/5
While it does cover some interesting historical information about the failure of fledgling democracies, though often in a disingenuous and incurious way, it doesn't say much about how stable democracies fail, but rather how they could fail.
It does provide some examples of how some stable democracies have successfully met the challenges that could lead to the downfall of democracy. At the same time, it says the United States has failed these same challenges.
As for its political orientation, it'd say its biased in the favor of elites and the establishment regardless of affiliation. However, it also states that the failure of the elites and establishment are the greatest cause of democracy failing, far more than anything the voters could do. Gatekeepers are presented as the pinnacle of sustainable democratic society.
In this way it's certainly true to the Constitution, in that the people can't be trusted. The problem with democracy is that it becomes too democratic and subject to the vagaries of those who don't know better. While the book strenuously argues against authoritarianism, it only means the overt sort, as their ideal government would seem to be an entirely managed democracy. It's the sort that values stability above almost all else. Elections are fair and free, but change nothing, they're merely symbolic expressions of preference by the voters.
This isn't directly stated, though it is presented as just how things are in a realpolitik and pragmatic way by providing many examples of how important the elites, establishment, and especially gatekeepers are and how little the voters matter overall.
The proposed solutions at the end are as follows: The Republican party is told to give up on white nationalism and extreme free-market ideology. The Democratic party is told to focus on the material concerns of all citizens, not only minorities, and to abandon identity politics.
It was difficult for me to decide whether to rate this 2 or 3 stars, but eventually I decided on 2 stars because overall I don't recommend reading it.
Rating: 2.5/5