Republic, Lost: How Money Corrupts Congress--and a Plan to Stop It by Lawrence Lessig

Feb 03, 2012 Nathan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: other-non-fiction

I remember when, in 2007, Larry Lessig, trailblazer and articulate champion of the movement for balanced copyright, announced he was retiring from the copyfight and instead would begin to work on the topic of political corruption. I wasn't alone in feeling perplexed: that he was abandoning us, that he was tackling a boring and unfixable subject, and that he was basically going to waste the rest of his life tilting at academic windmills. It was like Jesus hadn't ascended to heaven, but instead ha...more I remember when, in 2007, Larry Lessig, trailblazer and articulate champion of the movement for balanced copyright, announced he was retiring from the copyfight and instead would begin to work on the topic of political corruption. I wasn't alone in feeling perplexed: that he was abandoning us, that he was tackling a boring and unfixable subject, and that he was basically going to waste the rest of his life tilting at academic windmills. It was like Jesus hadn't ascended to heaven, but instead had announced to his disciples over dinner that he was going to give up public life and work on his art, and left the restaurant.

Lessig's change of tack wasn't the non sequitur we all thought. In fact, it was highly sequitur: Lessig's key insight is that the reason copyright (and tax, and bureaucracy, and balanced budgets, and welfare, and healthcare, and ...) reform was stalled was that members of Congress are no longer being paid to do the right thing for the public, they're paid to do the right thing by monied interests. Congress's addiction to that money, used for election campaigns, is what perverts and distorts the political system.

In this book, Lessig lays out his case with ruthless and relentless vigor. He has example after example of distortion caused by this money, and traces with clinical precision the paths of money and influence, the feedback loops of incentives and career paths which ensure the public interest is the last thing anyone on Capital Hill thinks about. Best of all, he goes out of his way to identify the way Republicans are just as harmed by this as Liberals: that the dearly-held Republican causes of smaller government, fiscal responsibility, simpler tax codes, and so on are all being thwarted because such things are not in the interests of a Congress that takes money from people who benefit from larger wasteful government and its complex tax codes.

Listening to Lessig describe the problems (and when you read this book, you will read it in his voice for it is unarguably drawn from his powerful presentations) is like West Wing at its best: he believes in the Constitution, that Government doesn't have to be as obstructive and parasitic as it is today, people are good at heart, and this is the single issue whose resolution will restore the Republic and America's glory. I'm all for that. I believe America's origins were great, that the framers did a brilliant job of turning noble ambition into pragmatic execution, and that the current American implementation of democracy is a degraded and corrupted form of what the framers intended.

Where Lessig falls down, the point where you find yourself frowning, is when he turns to solutions. For, and make no mistake about it, the solution is the hard part. Problems with governance are notoriously difficult to fix: who watches the watchers, etc. He offers four paths out of the current venal tarpit of self-service and mutual gratification, but it's not immediately obvious just how any of them can be brought to reality. Give him credit, though, he's trying all of his solutions to see which work: his corruption project does not end with this book, it ends when America is reclaimed by the people.

Amazing book. Read it and love it.(less)

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Apr 22, 2013 Bill Pardi rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: current-events

My first exposure to Lawrence Lessig was as Special Master in the Microsoft anti-trust case in the mid-90s. As a Microsoft employee, to say Lessig was not my favorite person after his role in that case is putting it mildly. Since then however, I've followed more and more of his writing and watched with interest his approach to IP law and public policy. The result has been an increased respect for him and his work. I think Republic, Lost and Lessig's activism related the topic of the book are wit...more My first exposure to Lawrence Lessig was as Special Master in the Microsoft anti-trust case in the mid-90s. As a Microsoft employee, to say Lessig was not my favorite person after his role in that case is putting it mildly. Since then however, I've followed more and more of his writing and watched with interest his approach to IP law and public policy. The result has been an increased respect for him and his work. I think Republic, Lost and Lessig's activism related the topic of the book are without question his most important efforts to date.

Republic, Lost details how corrupting the impact of money and influence has been to American politics, and how it has crippled the ability of our system to function as a Republic. Lessig makes a strong case that while the system and the people in it are not necessarily corrupt in the sense of deliberately breaking the rules or being outright evil, the rules have evolved to the point where the whole system is based on how well politicians play the money game. This forces good people to play that corrupting game, or face the almost certainty of not being in the game at all. The most dangerous aspect of this system, Lessig argues, is that it's not operated in a lawless underground, but that it's played out in the open, "by the rules." It's become honest politics. As such it's corruption can be a challenge to detect, and incredibly difficult to change.

Lessig is writing as an activist, not a dispassionate analyst, so his arguments can be one-sided and hyperbolic at times. But that doesn't take away from the overarching premise of the book, in which I think his case is very convincing. He shows that the current system where political campaigns are funded almost entirely by special interests through well-connected lobbyists puts politicians in a mode of "permanent campaigning." This means they are not only catering to a very small (and mostly wealthy and powerful) segment of the population, but that they have to spend most of their time with these interest groups raising money, not solving problems or working for the "the people alone."

The true value of the book for me was that it's conclusions are very much in line with a lot of other analysis I've been reading on why our government is so dysfunctional. But Lessig offers a plethora of new insights that get to the root of the problem, and he offers some valuable (if not depressing) ideas on how to fix things and opines on the chances that anything substantive will actually work.

I highly recommend Republic, Lost. You don't need to be a political wonk to get a lot from the book, just a concerned citizen.(less)

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Feb 07, 2013 Eric rated it 5 of 5 stars

Corruption of Congress: Follow the Money

If you want to understand what is really wrong with American government and specifically Congress then you should read Republic, Lost by Lawrence Lessig. It is an important and surprisingly readable book.

Lessig cuts through politics to clearly and powerfully describe how, regardless of party affiliation, the current structure of campaign financing has caused the systematic corruption of Congress. He insists that we look beyond partisan issues to see how ca...more Corruption of Congress: Follow the Money

If you want to understand what is really wrong with American government and specifically Congress then you should read Republic, Lost by Lawrence Lessig. It is an important and surprisingly readable book.

Lessig cuts through politics to clearly and powerfully describe how, regardless of party affiliation, the current structure of campaign financing has caused the systematic corruption of Congress. He insists that we look beyond partisan issues to see how campaign funding and the lobbyist industry that enables it are at the root of our problem.

Lessig illustrates how the presence of money bends a Congress-person's allegiance away from the constitutionally-intended voting constituency and towards those who provide the funds necessary to procure election victories, particularly towards lobbyists representing special interests. The system is corrupting in the sense that the campaign money, although legal, distorts the voice or expectations of the American electorate and Lessig convincingly shows how this is dangerously detrimental to our economic, political and social systems.

This dependence on donors rather than voters thwarts the ability of politicians and policy reformers - liberal or conservative – to achieve meaningful change in 'how things work in Washington, DC'. Common objectives - such as the regulation of industry and commerce in the public interest; smaller government; free and efficient markets; or fair and simple tax policy - are perverted by the undue influence of campaign financing as it has evolved in the last 20 years or so. I was particularly fascinated by many of the examples that challenged partisan stereotyping and offered compelling arguments to support Lessig's claims.

As a conservative you might be amazed to learn that your fear of a socialistic government would be more appropriately directed towards Wall Street and corporate executives than the existing welfare system. Lessig also points out that it was Nixon who created many new regulatory agencies because he believed they were in the national interest, among them were the EPA, OSHA, the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Mining Enforcement and Safety Administration. Nixon also expanded the Office of Management and Budget.

If you are a liberal you may be shocked to realize that many Democrats are as responsible as any Republican for promoting financial special interests and increasing the cost (while reducing the effectiveness) of universal health care legislation.

Apparently subverting economic policy in favor of enriching a small part of society is not exclusive to any political party. The public interest has not been well-served by George HW Bush or even by alleged populist politicians like Bill Clinton. Most politicians, and particularly those in Congress, soon find it is in their political (although not necessarily financial) interest to support the special interests that help fund their campaigns and keep them in power.

During the 2008 financial crisis derivative trading, particularly based on mortgages, was the leading cause of the meltdown. But the cause of that problem, the lack of oversight of the derivative market, began before that. In 1992, during the Bush administration, derivatives or asset-backed securities, where the asset was a mortgage, were exempted from SEC oversight. This no doubt pleased many in the financial industry. Bush's departing Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) chair also exempted most over-the-counter derivatives from federal regulation. That former chairperson was later named to the board at Enron, a company that actively traded in natural gas and electricity derivatives - a typical example of the public service/industry revolving-door or co-dependence that is also enabled by the campaign financing dance that continues to play out.

President Clinton's administration blocked all anti-derivative bills in Congress. His Treasury Secretary Richard Rubin and top advisors Larry Summers and Alan Greenspan vigorously opposed efforts by the CFTC to restore regulation of the derivative market - eventually passing a law that forbid the CFTC to regulate derivatives and exempted them from any other state law. And Clinton signed the law that abolished the Glass-Steagall Act, thus removing significant financial regulations in place since 1933. Neither the American public nor the future US economy benefited from any of these policy decisions.

Lessig outlines beyond a doubt how campaign financing transparently - and legally - enables powerful special interests to routinely reap huge benefits by passing laws that favor their financial interests - or blocking legislation that would threaten them. And he shows how this corruption of our republic has become systemic, crossing party lines and policy ideologies. His book concludes with suggestions for a solution but given the influence and self-interests of those in power it will not be easy to accomplish.

An impressive work.
(less)

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Jan 10, 2013 Terry rated it 4 of 5 stars

In the Afterword to the Paperback Edition, author Lawrence Lessig writes, "This was a depressing book to write." Well . . . it was a depressing book to read as well! His chronicle of the systemic distortions and corruption of American politics, specifically how (especially) federal legislators are beholden to, and dependent on, special interest and the money they procure to finance their election is well detailed. It's not that we don't already have a sense of this (especially if you live in a "...more

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Dec 16, 2012 Tim rated it 3 of 5 stars

The topic covered by 'Republic, Lost'--how campaign contributions compromise the integrity of congressional representatives, and proposals for what can be done about it--peaks my interest. For me the author's writing style was not powerful worthy of the topic. There are very specific cases, like the one 60 minutes reported involving Nancy Pelosi's husband taking advantage of VISA IPO stock offering, that clearly show the type of corruption we are facing. A few of these cases specified in detail...more

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Sep 14, 2012 Mark rated it 4 of 5 stars

Lessig makes a convincing argument on how our leaders are failing us and Democracy. Although, his writing style is unnecessarily befuddling the message still hits home. This is rather interesting because Lessig is an extremely well spoken man and clearly conveys information verbally during interviews. It is the prime reason I picked up his book... I was mesmerized listening to him speak on NPR. So, I find it interesting his writing style is so jolting.

His solution might work but it doesn't appea...more

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Feb 24, 2012 Peter Meyers rated it 3 of 5 stars

Politicians pay attention to influential people. Especially rich ones. The power capture by these few is magnified by the apathy of the general voting public. Instead of blaming the voters the author then goes on a tirade of how to raise money (clean elections) to combat the problem. Essentially fighting fire with fire.
He discusses his dislike of the supreme court Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens...

I appreciate most of Lawrence's des...more Politicians pay attention to influential people. Especially rich ones. The power capture by these few is magnified by the apathy of the general voting public. Instead of blaming the voters the author then goes on a tirade of how to raise money (clean elections) to combat the problem. Essentially fighting fire with fire.
He discusses his dislike of the supreme court Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens...

I appreciate most of Lawrence's description of the problem but I am completely uninterested with his proposed solutions. Most of his propositions to fixing campaign finance corruption seem more targeted at weakening political opposition then anything else. Forcing the public to contribute won't force them to be involved. The world is run by those that show up. Sure it is hard to take control from those that already have it but if we are going to let Congress pick winners and losers then those most interested in winning are going to do everything they can to control those regulators. Either through thinly veiled campaign bribes, promises of highly paid future employment, funding the opposition, or funding their own employees to get elected to these positions. Essentially turning those groups intended to regulate for pubic good into authoritative branches of a corporation with the power to shut down competition and impose their will on the public.

My interest isn't to force the politicians onto a forced funded system. If congress has billions in tax loopholes and other goodies to sell then the'll find a way to make sure they go to the highest bidder. Campaign finance doesn't need reform as much as Congress needs their power to direct funds to targeted companies and or individuals. What we truly need is tax reform. If everyone can play by different tax rules goverened and manipulated by congress over and over again every few years then that is all congress will be able to do. Pick and choose tax rates and bank debit card fees. They'll never have the time, will, or organization to do anything else.

I do like his idea of a one issue campaign to take congress hostage to fix a single identified problem. A campaign platform promise of nothing but reform and then resignation.(less)

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Dec 31, 2011 Mark Roth rated it 5 of 5 stars

I learned about this book after listening to a talk given by the author. I found his talk compelling enough to want to learn more, so I picked up the book. I'm glad I did.

While I didn't really need to be convinced of the author's thesis -- that special-interest money corrupts Congress -- he makes the argument in a compelling way. He comes at it from several perspectives, citing a great deal of existing research of which I was unaware, and highlights the problem in a way that is extremely accessi...more

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Dec 19, 2011 Andy marked it as to-read

Sounds like a great companion volume to Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto and Ameritopia: The Unmaking of America. This addresses the corruption problem, Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto addresses the overcentralization of power which leads to corruption and the ceding of rights and responsibilities, and Ameritopia: The Unmaking of America sounds like its going to address the agendas and creeping growth of Statist government into all areas of our lives, which gives corru...more

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Nov 24, 2011 Keith Swenson rated it 4 of 5 stars

Excellent, careful analysis of the problems of our government, what causes them, why they are dangerous, and then at the end some suggestions on what to do. Careful analysis is important, because this is not traditional corruption, but a special kind of corruption which is legal, but nevertheless carries disastrous unintended consequences. It is a nuanced discussion which helps me to understand why things that would on the surface seem acceptable turn out to be insidious.

What I find interesting...more

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Oct 29, 2011 Converse rated it 3 of 5 stars

Actually Lessig, a law professor at Harvard, offers at least 4 different plans of varying but low probability of accomplishment. He describes the problem as "dependency corruption," meaning that there is a constant interchange of political actions and campaign cash, or threat of contributions to opposing candidates, between members of the United States Congress and various interested parties. As there is no explicit trade of campaign contributions for a particular vote, the process is legal and...more Actually Lessig, a law professor at Harvard, offers at least 4 different plans of varying but low probability of accomplishment. He describes the problem as "dependency corruption," meaning that there is a constant interchange of political actions and campaign cash, or threat of contributions to opposing candidates, between members of the United States Congress and various interested parties. As there is no explicit trade of campaign contributions for a particular vote, the process is legal and has become so ubiquitious that those involved have difficulty seeing how things could be different. Proving that there is a clear link between campaign contributions and votes has been something political scientists have had difficulty documenting. Lessig argues, convincingly to me, that some of the reasons they have trouble making the connection are 1) most of the important politicking has been done before a vote on the floor of the House or Senate, 2) members adjust their views in advance before asking for contributions, so there is no explicit evidence of a change in a member's view as a result of asking for contributions, 3) and that often the contributions are given to avoid a bill being passed or to preserve the status quo, as when a "sunset" provision for a tax loophole is due to expire. Lessig also argues, convincingly in my view, that even if nothing that a layperson would consider corruption occurs, the agenda and time devoted to actual legislating suffer under the current campaign finance system.

Lessig gives numerous examples of regulatory, agricultural, and tax policies that to me seem inexplicable without reference to campaign contributions. For example, the high price of sugar in the United States benefits both the tiny number of American sugar growers and the rather larger number of persons involved in producing corn syrup, a substitute. Lessig tries to come up with examples that will convince both big-government Democrats and small-government Republicans that something is very wrong and that neither would suffer a partisan disadvantage as a result of campaign finance reform. It is not always a matter of individuals, corporations or unions asking for favors, and later (or earlier) contributions to a campaign; it can be a member of Congress asking for a contribution, with an implied "or else something bad will happen to a law or regulation you depend upon."

Lessig's proposed solutions strike me as at best long term propositions. One option he favors a system when candidates voluntarily agree to take only small ($100 max) contributions and what looks like an improved federal tax payer campaign check off, but this time for specific Congressional candidates of the voter's choice rather than for the President. He also suggests a constitutional convention. He also has less plausible options, such as both presidential candidates from the major parties declaring they will veto all legislation until campaign finance is passed, whereupon they will resign the Presidency.

Lessig does have some favorite words that struck me as odd. He constantly refers to individuals as "souls," some good, some bad. He also occasionally refers to those who share his conviction that reducing the influence of money on politics as "rootstrikers" apparently mimicking a quote from Thoreau.(less)

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Oct 17, 2011 Matthew rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: intellectual-property

This book considers the impact of special interests upon United States politicians, political parties, and institutions, such as Congress and the selection of the judiciary. The early part of the book considers the impact of lobbyists on various issues - such as financial regulation, intellectual property, education, and climate change. While there are strong points,its somewhat too sweeping for its own good - covering too much regulatory territory. The middle of the book is strongest - looking...more

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Dec 09, 2011 Chet rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a brief, but dense treatise on how our current system of campaign financing and lobbying thoroughly corrupts our government. While this is not news to anyone, Lessig carefully documents how the insatiable need for campaign funds distorts our republic from one that serves the people to one that serves the super rich. Obama talked a lot about changing this system when he ran for President, but he has put change on the back burner while he focused on getting other stuff done.

Lessig's prim...more

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Mar 15, 2012 Andrew rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction, very-good, politics, economics

There are very few legislators who are corrupt in the way we think of corruption - there aren't suitcases of money changing hands on shadowy street corners. What we have instead are lawmakers with a systemic dependence (much like alcoholism) on campaign contributions (and other forms of support) from lobbyists and their clients. These lawmakers aren't necessarily bad people: they simply require this support if they expect to be a viable candidate, because they can be sure that their opponents wi...more

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Jul 04, 2012 Paul McNeil rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction

In this book, Lessig takes the general opinion of most Americans- Congress is corrupted by money - and provides some insight and nuance into how that happens. In his view, bribery in the traditional sense is quite rare; our problem today is what he calls systemic corruption, and politicians are generally good people who find themselves in a system where they have the choice of receiving large amounts of donations from special interests and corporations, or finding themselves hopelessly outspent...more In this book, Lessig takes the general opinion of most Americans- Congress is corrupted by money - and provides some insight and nuance into how that happens. In his view, bribery in the traditional sense is quite rare; our problem today is what he calls systemic corruption, and politicians are generally good people who find themselves in a system where they have the choice of receiving large amounts of donations from special interests and corporations, or finding themselves hopelessly outspent in every election- and how this dependence goes against the aims of both the right and the left. He calls is the "root" of most of the republic's other problems. Sometimes, the influence of this money may be obvious to the politician, but other times the efforts of lobbying may be creating a relationship that the politician doesn't realize is changing his views. Further, the politician has changed into more of a fundraiser, with some congressmen spending 70% of their time fundraising rather than doing what we all thought was their jobs. The real problem at the root of this, in his view, is that this creates a system where the key way of influencing lawmakers is money, rather than votes.

The book convincingly spells out the problems with this systemic corruption, and is refreshingly nonpartisan. He offers several ideas for fixing it, while noting that each of the ideas is unlikely to work due to the fact that the system that would need to make the change won't want to change. My favorite idea of his was the idea of a reform candidate who would run with the sole goal of reforming campaign funding, then resign as soon as the change has been made. Of course, the first change would need to be education- people currently believe in the corruption, but don't know the how or the why. This book worked for me- I'm looking more into what I can do to add my small nudge in the right direction.

EDIT: On the Rootstrikers website (an organization dedicated to campaign finance reform) has what is basically a CliffsNotes version of the book (less than 40 pages): https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net...(less)

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Mar 19, 2013 AdultNonFiction Teton County Library rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: current-events

Teton County Library Call No: 328.73 Lessig L
Adam's Rating: 4 Stars

I picked up this book and persevered through 14 chapters of how incorrectly use money corrupts, how money's influence in anything can create doubt of integrity, and how politician's addiction to it for funding their campaigns has basically eroded the United State's democracy, so that I could get to the last 4 chapters of Lessig's plan to fix it. It was worth the perseverance. He outlines a few different ideas of campaign finance...more

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Mar 19, 2013 Adam rated it 4 of 5 stars

Teton County Library Call No: 328.73 Lessig L
Adam's Rating: 4 Stars

I picked up this book and persevered through 14 chapters of how incorrectly use money corrupts, how money's influence in anything can create doubt of integrity, and how politician's addiction to it for funding their campaigns has basically eroded the United State's democracy, so that I could get to the last 4 chapters of Lessig's plan to fix it. It was worth the perseverance. He outlines a few different ideas of campaign finance...more

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Feb 09, 2012 Matt rated it 5 of 5 stars

I'm a bit nervous to actually say this, but i think this maybe one of, if not the, best/most important books i have ever read. Lessig shows how, with nobody being a villan (not in the slightest), money has completely perverted the process in washington. Using the language of economics and game theory, he lays out, entirely apart from political allegiance, how a bunch of good people, trying to do the right thing, all end up working in a system that undermines their efficacy of governance. There i...more

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Feb 18, 2013 Nikhil Kumar rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is an incredibly important book for any American citizen to read.

The essence of Lessig's argument is this: The representative government of the US should be dependent upon the PEOPLE and nothing else. Instead, given the rules of the game, we've created a system in which the government is dependent on those who fund it. If we are serious about solving any of the outstanding problems in our country, be it health care quality/cost, education, tax reform or anything else, we have to fix this fo...more

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Mar 07, 2012 Tony Heyl rated it 4 of 5 stars

To anyone trying to understand how money changes Washington, Republic Lost is a very good book. Lessig knows his stuff, a liberal who worked with and liked Reagan from way before he was President. He points out that there is much more to corruption than just quid pro quo money for votes, and in fact, that is small in comparison to how money influences in other ways. He doesn't demonize, but instead explains how good people can be affected by money, and not just the money that they get as campaig...more

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Aug 29, 2012 Lydia rated it 5 of 5 stars

The best policy book I’ve read - hands down. Lessig is an incredible author who builds his arguments carefully. In Republic Lost, he does not simplify a complex topic; rather, through examples and antidotes, Lessig gradually develops a framework to explain the difficult topic of a government corruption that isn’t actually illegal. This framework ensures his audience can understand the problem, its wide-reaching effects, and his proposed solutions.

Outside of Lessig’s writing style, the book is a...more

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Mar 25, 2012 Cball rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, non-fiction

I admit, when it comes to Lawrence Lessig, I have drunk the Kool-Aid. I try to read him with a non-biased viewpoint...and every time I think to myself "if anyone is going to solve this problem, Larry (as I tend to call him) can do it." So, given my bias, this book may be viewed as a 4 star...bottom line? Want a solution (or solutions) to changing how the federal government is run? In other words, are you interested in how to stop the special interest groups (the money) affecting how laws are mad...more

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Apr 04, 2012 Joshua rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: poli

An excellent work on the ultimate problem with American government today: campaign finance. Why can't Congress solve any of our significant problems? Because the members of Congress are constantly pandering to the whims of their campaign contributors and not to the voters. They talk big during election cycles, but when it comes to legislating, all their ideals go out the window. This book does a very good job of describing dependency corruption and how it is different from quid pro quo corruptio...more

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Apr 05, 2012 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars

"Republic, Lost" is an excellent book, filled with great information and examples about how our government works. I first learned about this book when Jon Stewart interviewed Mr Lessig on The Daily Show (definitely worth checking out online!). The very knowledgeable and eminently qualified, Mr Lessig provides well documented and thoughtful analysis of how campaign financing is greatly contributing to Congressional gridlock and is harming our country. Further, he provides a number of potential s...more

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Feb 21, 2012 Paul Hinman rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is my favorite book of Lessig's since The Future of Ideas The Future of Ideas: The Fate of the Commons in a Connected World.

I think his initial review is spot on - the problem with our Government is not directly quid pro quo bribery. We haven't elected a room full of evil individuals to fill Congress. It's not even the lobbyists and special interests that are necessarily evil.
Instead, the "evil" is in the system itself. Congress is dependent on the funders, rather than on the people. Its t...more

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Feb 02, 2012 Dan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: audio-book, non-fiction, read-in-2012

I was surprised by the balance of this book. Not overly liberal or conservative. This is a good thing because US corruption transcends even the microscopically thin line between republican and democrat.

Lessig lays out the problems and the types of corruption that exists and then gives us four possible plans to fix the problems and remove the corruption. Sadly, none of the plans have a high likelihood for success (in both my view, but more importantly Lessig's).

Lessig states that this may not be...more

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Oct 30, 2012 Alain rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is one of the most important books I have ever read. It is also very well written. The author is authoritative and makes an irrefutable case for his thesis.

This is a story written by the man who sees the elephant. I'm referring to the story of the blind men, each feeling a part of the elephant, and reporting is a snake, a tree, etc. The root cause of the problems we have in this country today is money in the wrong places. Everything else is just a symptom of the problem. This is true regar...more

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Sep 10, 2012 John Szarowski rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone disappointed in politics today

Lessig takes great pains to provide examples and support for his arguments from both sides of the aisle. That will make it hard for any reader to exclaim 'biased!' but it does make for some pretty dry reading. I had to struggle to get through it.

And even he admits that his proposed solutions aren't very likely to work, which makes already dry reading pretty depressing.

But you know what? This is still an important book to read. I only need to glance at my facebook page to see how many friends are...more

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Oct 15, 2011 Tom Lee rated it 5 of 5 stars

Part three is a phenomenally good discussion of how money distorts the congress. Couldn't recommend it more highly.

Parts one and two are good but dispensable.

Part four is a weird amalgamation of a lawyer's enthusiasm for legal/historical nitpicking/daydreaming; and some pretty naive musings about movement-building and political organizing. But this isn't important; the book is great and valuable for the third section alone.

EDIT: I should add that part 4 also includes Lessig's ideas for a vouch...more

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Mar 14, 2012 Peggie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Lessig makes a compelling argument for chaning how political campaigns are financed and I would love to see something happen - but I don't hold out much hope. The people who benefit the most from the current situation are the ones who would need to make the change or at least vote on it.

Although, there is a movement afoot to change the constitution to make the Citizens United ruling null and void. Something much change or Congress will become more useless than it current is. A recent article in...more

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