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The demagogue's playbook : the battle for American democracy from the founders to Trump / Eric A. Posner.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York, NY : All Points Books, 2020Edition: First editionDescription: viii, 310 pages ; 22 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9781250303035
  • 1250303036
Subject(s): Summary: "Cuts through the hyperbole and hysteria that often distorts assessments of our republic, particularly at this time." - Alan Taylor, winner of the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for History What-and who-is a demagogue? How did America's Founders envision the presidency? What should a constitutional democracy look like-and how can it be fixed when it appears to be broken? Something is definitely wrong with Donald Trump's presidency, but what exactly? The extraordinary negative reaction to Trump's election-by conservative intellectuals, liberals, Democrats, and global leaders alike-goes beyond ordinary partisan and policy disagreements. It reflects genuine fear about the vitality of our constitutional system. The Founders, reaching back to classical precedents, feared that their experiment in mass self-government could produce a demagogue: a charismatic ruler who would gain and hold on to power by manipulating the public rather than by advancing the public good. President Trump, who has played to the mob and attacked institutions from the judiciary to the press, appears to embody these ideas. How can we move past his rhetoric and maintain faith in our great nation? In The Demagogue's Playbook, acclaimed legal scholar Eric Posner offers a blueprint for how America can prevent the rise of a demagogue and protect the features of a democracy that help it thrive-and restore national greatness, for one and all"-- Provided by publisher.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 306.2097 P855 Available 33111009661550
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

As President, Donald Trump has made a habit of undermining democratic institutions. Is this the new normal? In The Demagogue's Playbook, Eric A. Posner argues that Trump falls within a tradition of American political personalities who have used the language of exploitation and grievance to amass power--and, in many cases, were quite popular in their time. From Andrew Jackson to Father Charlies Coughlin, the viscously anti-semetic radio personality of the early 20th century, these demagogues attacked what they perceived as "enemies of the people": the elites, the journalists, the policy-makers, and the institutional norms of our republican system. On the surface, this defense of the "common people" feels oddly noble. But, as Posner shows, this defense is an emperor with no clothes. Rather than protect, the demagogue uses everyday people--and invents their enemies--to undermine, ultimately, their self-interest. Posner exposes how we must move past the demagogue's rhetoric and protect the features of a democracy that help it thrive: a free press, a group of experts who oversee the various agencies tasked with improving American lives, and the checks and balances that pose restrictions on public office. Only under such norms can a democracy survive. In short, can a democracy thrive under a demagogue? Posner finds no reason to believe so, and The Demagogue's Playbook provocatively reveals how.

"Cuts through the hyperbole and hysteria that often distorts assessments of our republic, particularly at this time." - Alan Taylor, winner of the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for History What-and who-is a demagogue? How did America's Founders envision the presidency? What should a constitutional democracy look like-and how can it be fixed when it appears to be broken? Something is definitely wrong with Donald Trump's presidency, but what exactly? The extraordinary negative reaction to Trump's election-by conservative intellectuals, liberals, Democrats, and global leaders alike-goes beyond ordinary partisan and policy disagreements. It reflects genuine fear about the vitality of our constitutional system. The Founders, reaching back to classical precedents, feared that their experiment in mass self-government could produce a demagogue: a charismatic ruler who would gain and hold on to power by manipulating the public rather than by advancing the public good. President Trump, who has played to the mob and attacked institutions from the judiciary to the press, appears to embody these ideas. How can we move past his rhetoric and maintain faith in our great nation? In The Demagogue's Playbook, acclaimed legal scholar Eric Posner offers a blueprint for how America can prevent the rise of a demagogue and protect the features of a democracy that help it thrive-and restore national greatness, for one and all"-- Provided by publisher.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 263-292) and index.

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