Yascha Mounk, “The People vs. Democracy“ (w/ E.J. Dionne)

Yascha Mounk discusses his book, “The People vs. Democracy“, at Politics and Prose on 3/11/18. As Mounk shows in this closely-reasoned history and analysis of liberal democracy, recent years have seen a widening split between the system’s two components. As liberalism and democracy come apart, they tend toward the extremes of either an illiberal democracy under the sway of populist demagogues or an undemocratic liberalism, run by technocratic elites. Using data, social science research, and evidence drawn from voting behavior, economic inequality, and global political trends, Mounk, author of The Age of Responsibility and a senior fellow in the New America Political Reform Program, charts the forces that have pulled liberal democracy apart and proposes ways to bring popular will and individual rights back together again. Mounk will be in conversation with E.J. Dionne, Washington Post columnist and co-author of One Nation after Trump. Founded by Carla Cohen and Barbara Meade in 1984, Politics and Prose Bookstore is Washington, D.C.’s premier independent bookstore and cultural hub, a gathering place for people interested in reading and discussing books. Politics and Prose offers superior service, unusual book choices, and a haven for book lovers in the store and online. Visit them on the web at Produced by Tom Warren