Making America a Democracy Again

Americans suffer greatly from political extremism. But while people agree about the existence of the problem, they come to different conclusions about its causes. Observers cite presidential overreach, congressional gridlock, judicial partisanship, and other obstacles to good governance. In Making America a Democracy Again, David Orentlicher identifies a critical concern - the winner-take-all nature of American politics. In the United States, even when the public is closely divided, the prevailing candidate gains the entire power of the office. Thus, for example, presidents exercise all the immense authority of their office no matter how small their margin of victory. Orentlicher argues that winner-take-all politics is fundamentally unfair in a country that promises a government for all the people. The book proposes reforms to ensure that power is shared and elected officials work together to promote the welfare of all, drawing insights from American history and contemporary European countries for solutions. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.