How Democracies Die: What History Reveals About Our Future in Daily Show / Colbert Report / Nightly Show / The Opposition

Jan 04, 2018 Andy rated it it was ok

This book delivers autopsies of various democracies from 30,000 feet. Hitler, Hugo Chavez, Pinochet, Trump somehow all get blended into this survey. So the bulk of the book works as an introductory history course. That's fine, but the rise of Hitler, for example, is old information. What I am looking for at this point is what to do to save democracy.

I was disappointed by what the authors eventually conclude. For example, they have a long list of things that the leaders of the Republican Party " ...more

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May 27, 2023 Letitia rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2023, audiobook

This is ultimately the book I have been looking for, or at least deals with precisely the question I wanted to be dealt with: what is at the root of democracy's weakness and fascsim's resilience, and how do we counteract it? The authors of these books do look to structures and systems, the crumbling of society that will follow distrust of institutions, and provide the incisive critique of the GOP that has motivated most of the poor reviews this book receives (every bad review I'm reading appears ...more

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Mar 30, 2018 Jack rated it it was amazing

Shelves: nonfiction, politics, history

After the 2016 election, as others have pointed out, lots of people wanted to learn about "flyover country," or "Trump country," or the white working class. Perhaps more accurately, lots of people said that Hillary voters should read more about these fine folks. Certainly, people should do more to learn about different cultures and opinions - as followed and believed in by the people who are so cultured and opinionated, rather than reading about red country from the point of view of the supposed After the 2016 election, as others have pointed out, lots of people wanted to learn about "flyover country," or "Trump country," or the white working class. Perhaps more accurately, lots of people said that Hillary voters should read more about these fine folks. Certainly, people should do more to learn about different cultures and opinions - as followed and believed in by the people who are so cultured and opinionated, rather than reading about red country from the point of view of the supposed coastal elite, or Hillary voter. Hillbilly Elegy was just such a book. There are also lots of great reporters who have traveled the many counties that switched from Obama in 2012 to Trump in 2016. However, again as others have pointed out, I haven't seen as many people telling rural red voters that they should do more to learn about people working hard to make it in the more expensive and financially dominant areas of the country. Perhaps the entertainment industry does a lot of that, by pushing certain agenda items the left is more approving of. Sure. OK. I only hope our red-hatted friends recognize that there are lots of Hillary voters who enjoy Hollywood entertainment but don't feel their everyday is accurately represented by progressive Avenger films. This is a long-winded way of getting to a simple point: for all of the recommendations for the left to read about the right, I think this book is a really important book that I wish more Trump Republicans would read. I don't think it would have to be believed in its entirety, but I think the book is a strong statement about the concerns many left-leaning people have about the Trump presidency. More specifically, the potential fear many have that we could be stepping away from lots of important democratic norms and towards more autocracy.
The best parts of the book focus on the other countries that have shifted away from democracy and towards autocracy, like Peru and Turkey, et al. Fascinating stuff.
The least enjoyable aspects of the book are the long recitations of troubling aspects of Trump's questionable actions as a presidential candidate and president. Every day we are bombarded with actions that no Trump voter would have ever sat quietly for if committed by a Democratic president. We know this: they screamed so many times louder over much lesser actions from Obama and Bill Clinton. But since I read and follow the news, the authors spend a lot of time recounting events I am already aware of. In an important note of fairness, just as Schlesinger did with "the Imperial Presidency," the authors also spend an impressive amount of time cataloging that our current troubles with Trump aren't all of his doing: lots of Dems have helped lay the groundwork for a corrupt, incompetent, and ignorant President Trump by also ratcheting up the idea that the opposition is "the enemy" and worthy of fighting with by more intense means.
Still, the book ends on a strong note. There are methods for everyone to make sure that the "soft guardrails" of our democratic republic hold. I hope we follow those recommendations. Seeing so many people so quietly accept the weakening of our democratic republic has been disheartening. I much more greatly appreciate how fragile this good American life is. And I also know that if we can reinvigorate the importance of respecting this democratic republic and its norms, I will also be far more respectful of the decent people who spoke up at this moment of need, and I will be far more appreciate of politicians whom I may vote against passionately, but are still decent and worthy of my respect as public servants who defend America, its democracy, and all its people, even if they prefer policies I disagree with.
I know it is rare for a person to read a book so clearly from the perspective of other ideologies, but I wish if any one book would be, that it would be this book. ...more

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