In Defense of Liberal Democracy: What We Need to Do to Heal a Divided America

In Defense of Liberal Democracy is a clarion call for today’s divided time: a bold reaffirmation of the liberal democratic principles that have carried America through each crisis in its history–and can do so again.

Merging expert historical, political, and economic analysis, In Defense of Liberal Democracy shows how our recent technological revolution–what high-profile economist Manuel Hinds calls the Connectivity Revolution–has led to a crisis of divisiveness. Assessing the angry rhetoric and polarization of current political and social discourse in the US, Hinds considers the dangers of seeking populist solutions to our current upheaval and shows how the traditions and institutions of liberal democracy restored prosperity, freedom, and social equity during the Industrial Revolution, the Great Depression, and other periods of political instability. Hinds examines our national past and present (up to and including the 2020 presidential election) to illustrate how current events can be as dramatic as any historical legacy in warning us of the danger of abandoning our democratic principles.