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Title details for Republic, Lost by Lawrence Lessig - Available

Republic, Lost

How Money Corrupts Congress—and a Plan to Stop It

by Lawrence Lessig
Lawrence Lessig
Audiobook
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Harvard Law School professor Lawrence Lessig investigates the most vexing problem in American democracy: how money corrupts our nation's politics, and the critical campaign to stop it.
In an era when special interests funnel huge amounts of money into our government-driven by shifts in campaign-finance rules and brought to new levels by the Supreme Court in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission-trust in our government has reached an all-time low. More than ever before, Americans believe that money buys results in Congress, and that business interests wield control over our legislature.
With heartfelt urgency and a keen desire for righting wrongs, Harvard law professor Lawrence Lessig takes a clear-eyed look at how we arrived at this crisis: how fundamentally good people, with good intentions, have allowed our democracy to be co-opted by outside interests, and how this exploitation has become entrenched in the system. Rejecting simple labels and reductive logic-and instead using examples that resonate as powerfully on the Right as on the Left-Lessig seeks out the root causes of our situation. He plumbs the issues of campaign financing and corporate lobbying, revealing the human faces and follies that have allowed corruption to take such a foothold in our system. He puts theissues in terms that nonwonks can understand, using real-world analogies and real human stories. And ultimately he calls for widespread mobilization and a new Constitutional Convention, presenting achievable solutions for regaining control of our corrupted-but redeemable-representational system. In this way, Lessig plots a roadmap for returning our republic to its intended greatness.
While America may be divided, Lessig vividly champions the idea that we can succeed if we accept that corruption is our common enemy and that we must find a way to fight against it. In Republic Lost, he not only makes this need palpable and clear-he gives us the practical and intellectual tools to do something about it.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    October 5, 2011

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781611135602
      • File size: 313872 KB
      • Duration: 10:53:53

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      September 5, 2011
      You may call it "dependence corruption," but it's still corruptionâthe dependence of Congress on campaign contributors to get their message out and the dependence on the voters to elect them on that message. Lessig (Remix) distinguishes between a commercial economy (or quid pro quo), and a gift economy that cements a relationship of obligation. He argues that campaign finance reform will never work as long as politicians know who is donating to their cause, and sometimes even if they know someone is donating, or even threatening to donate, to their opponent's cause. In Washington's vicious circle, a lobbyist has a fundraiser for a candidate because (s)he serves on a certain committee and a Congressional representative knows which lobbyist and which corporation to ask for contributions because (s)he knows they share interests. Lessig proffers interesting solutions, but grants only a 10% chance that one or all of them might help. Though parts of the book are bogged down in lawyerly rhetoric, it will reward readers with insight into the morass that is Washington, though not necessarily hope.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Lawrence Lessig continues to demonstrate his talents as both author and narrator with this recent offering. His timely and riveting analysis of how money has corrupted American politics and our entire system of government is presented clearly and at a pace that allows the listener to absorb the facts. Lessig's experience as a college professor is evident in his organized writing style and engaging oral delivery. He skillfully varies pace and pitch not only to instruct but also to hold the listener's attention while conveying his own passion for the topic. The solutions he proffers may seem quixotic, but they at least offer some hope that the sobering, if not downright depressing, realities presented here may someday be rectified. M.O.B. (c) AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine
    • Kirkus

      September 1, 2011

      Harvard Law School cyber-law expert Lessig (Remix: Making Art and Commerce Thrive in the Hybrid Economy, 2008, etc.) turns his attention to what he believes to be rampant institutional corruption destroying American democracy.

      While the U.S. Congress has lost credibility because of widespread conviction that senators and representatives are bought and paid for by special interests, the author argues that this is the fault of a system that has gone out of control rather than the personal venality of politicians. Lessig, a one-time conservative who supported President Obama, attributes this to systematic economic deregulation over the past 20 years, which has allowed for the concentration of wealth into the hands of a small number of individuals who now wield disproportionate power. He shows in detail how financial rather than national interest has come to dominate legislation and the practice of government on both sides of the aisle, despite stated political allegiance. A root cause is the rise of campaign spending, which has grown from $56,000 for a member of the House in 1974 to $1.3 million in 2008 and is still rising. Not only do politicians cater to their largest contributors, but a majority of their time and energy is necessarily diverted to fundraising for the next campaign. Lessig describes how entitlements to big business ("corporate welfare") provide absolutely no benefit for average Americans or the poor, as exemplified by protective tariffs on sugar and support for ethanol production, which benefit agribusiness to the detriment of public health and the environment. He suggests that campaign-finance reform is the most important issue to be remedied, and he proposes a national discussion about the necessity for a constitutional convention to implement reform.

      A well-reasoned argument on the structural problems now paralyzing American government, with a less-convincing proposed solution.

       

      (COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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