In the last thirty years, as a result of a neoliberal ideology that extolled so-called free markets and demonized government, America has lost its grasp on its core principle – democracy. Democracy, the ability of all Americans to participate freely and equally in the political and economic affairs of the country, suffered demonstrable losses. Economically, over the period, the vast majority of Americans have been made worse off as a result of the largest redistribution of wealth from the bottom to the top in American history. Politically, partisan gridlock and sound-bite politics have hampe ... More

In the last thirty years, as a result of a neoliberal ideology that extolled so-called free markets and demonized government, America has lost its grasp on its core principle – democracy. Democracy, the ability of all Americans to participate freely and equally in the political and economic affairs of the country, suffered demonstrable losses. Economically, over the period, the vast majority of Americans have been made worse off as a result of the largest redistribution of wealth from the bottom to the top in American history. Politically, partisan gridlock and sound-bite politics have hampered efforts to seek fairer taxes, responsive and effective regulation, reliable health care, and better education, among other needs. This book explores this last generation of neoliberal government and concludes that those democratic losses can be regained. We know from experience that philosophical pragmatism and political progressivism express the country's creedal democratic values. More simply, our country's political commitment to expanding liberty, equality, and distributive fairness – bedrock values of modern democracy – is historically embedded and has yielded measurable gains. Democracy, American-style, outlawed legally sanctioned racism and sexism, fashioned the American Dream, and created the middle class, among other gains, while at the same time the United States became a global leader in economic and military power. More particularly, those gains were realized through an active, robust, and participatory government. As in the past, a sound regulatory state, while not perfect and in need of reform, is the vehicle to achieve the Constitution's goal of “a more perfect union.”