We Hold These Truths
Updating the Framers' Vision of American Democracy

Madison designed his Constitution to promote consensus. This book explains why it also rewards polarization, and how to fix it.

Stephen M. Maurer (Author)

9781108845700, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 21 December 2023

300 pages, 12 b/w illus.
23.6 x 16 x 2.7 cm, 0.73 kg

'Whither American democracy in this age of polarization? How has the institutional design of the 1780s played through the history since? How have we been theorizing about that design, and how should we be? For one thing, James Madison meet Anthony Downs. But that is not all. Steeped in theory, history, vast scholarship, and alert to current vexations, this book is an invigorating read.' David R. Mayhew, Sterling Professor of Political Science Emeritus, Yale University

The Federalist remains the best single account of how American democracy is supposed to work. That said, it remains incomplete. While generations of scholars from Alexis de Tocqueville to Anthony Downs have worked hard to fill these gaps, America's constantly-changing society and political institutions continue to encounter new puzzles and challenges. We Hold These Truths provides a comprehensive survey of recent scholarship about the Framers' vision, stressing how long-established political patterns can abruptly change as voters become more polarized, and even lead to feedbacks that amplify public anger still further. Developing a theory of American democracy for the age of the internet, Trump, and polarization, this study mixes modern social science with a detailed knowledge of history, asking where the Framers' scheme has gone wrong – and what can be done to fix it.

Introduction
1. Updating the framers
2. The people: from individuals to communities
3. Selling policy: political narratives & ideologies
4. The public forum: mass media and the web
5. Mass democracy: political parties and elections
6. The 'extended republic': communities, states & regions
7. Making law: the congress
8. Implementing law: the executive
9. Interpreting law: the courts
10. Democracy evolving: the future of American politics.

Subject Areas: Political science & theory [JPA]