Making America a Democracy Again

Americans suffer greatly from political extremism. Yet people come to different conclusions about its causes. Observers cite presidential overreach, congressional gridlock, judicial partisanship, and other obstacles to good governance. In Making America a Democracy Again, David Orentlicher identifies a critical problem – the winner-take-all nature of American politics. In America, even when the public is closely divided, the prevailing candidate gains the entire power of the office. Presidents exercise all the immense authority of their office even when they win by a mere number of votes. Orentlicher argues that winner-take all politics is fundamentally unfair in a country that promises a government for all the people. The book proposes reforms to ensure that power is shared and elected officials work together to promote the welfare of all, drawing insights from American history and contemporary European countries for solutions. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.