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Oct 25, 2019carolwu96 rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Both Harvard professors, Levitsky and Ziblatt compare examples of democratic breakdowns all over the world. They then explore the reason behind the American democracy’s relative longevity before ending with a dissection of the Trump administration. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Some interesting points: ⁣⁣ 🥝 Democracy has been declining for decades: Trump is its phenomenon and accelerant, not the cause.⁣⁣ 🥝 Political stances are more identity-based (especially on race and religion) than ideology-based now.⁣⁣ 🥝American democracy has held in the past because of unofficial norms and gate-keeping (not nominating potential authoritarians as candidates), but now there’s an increasing inclination to sacrifice democratic norms for political gain. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Some questions I ended up asking myself: ⁣⁣ 🥝How much does democracy need to be sacrificed at certain stages (eg. gatekeeping) to maintain itself in the long run? ⁣⁣ 🥝 How does meritocracy affect democracy?⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ The reason I took off half a star: ⁣⁣ 🥝 As much as I admire President Obama, I feel like polarization has greatly increased during his time. I wish the book discusses what he could have done to prevent our current situation. ⁣⁣ 🥝 The book suggests that Trump’s inauguration has caused a democratic recession in many parts of the world... but I suspect that like with the erosion of American democracy, he’s an accelerant, not a cause? ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Food for thought: how is this 2-party-eroding-democracy dynamic different from the Prisoner’s Dilemma? In the Dilemma, the prisoners’ distrust ruin each other’s chances. How are the two parties’ erosion of democratic norms for power any different? ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ This read is both informative and captivating. Highly recommended.⁣⁣ For more book reviews, visit me on Instagram @ RandomStuffIRead !