Democracy in One Book or Less: How it Works, Why it Doesn’t, and Why Fixing it is Easier Than You Think

In this snappy and well-informed dissection of the current state of American democracy, Obama administration speechwriter Litt (Thanks, Obama) claims that “our representative government may be representing someone, but it isn’t us.” Combining solid historical analysis, substantive political science, and wry humor, Litt examines myriad ways that “politics have changed for the worse” over the past 40 years and offers issue-by-issue suggestions for reform. He documents a 500% increase since the 1970s in the number of Americans disenfranchised because of a felony conviction, notes that “60 percent of U.S. senators are elected by just 24 percent of the voters,” and compares America’s low voter turnout to the rest of the world (“We’re slightly ahead of Latvia. So that’s nice.”). Litt also laments the “rightward lurch” of Republican lawmakers and their judicial appointments, the loosening of campaign finance restrictions, the influence of corporate lobbyists on policy making, and the obstructionism of Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell. The author’s ideas “to stop the decay of our republic” include automatic voter registration, ranked choice voting, and requiring a Supreme Court supermajority to overturn federal law. Both optimistic and clear-eyed, this quip-filled call to action will resonate strongly with young progressives. Agent: Daniel Greenberg, Levine Greenberg Rostan (June)