Bibliograph

The demagogue's playbook, the battle for American democracy from the founders to Trump, Eric A. Posner

Type

Label

The demagogue's playbook, the battle for American democracy from the founders to Trump, Eric A. Posner

Language

eng

Bibliography note

Includes bibliographical references (pages 263-292) and index

Index

index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

The demagogue's playbook

Nature of contents

bibliography

Oclc number

1139014492

Responsibility statement

Eric A. Posner

Sub title

the battle for American democracy from the founders to Trump

Summary

"Cuts through the hyperbole and hysteria that often distorts assessments of our republic, particularly at this time." - Alan Taylor, winner of the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for History What-and who-is a demagogue? How did America's Founders envision the presidency? What should a constitutional democracy look like-and how can it be fixed when it appears to be broken? Something is definitely wrong with Donald Trump's presidency, but what exactly? The extraordinary negative reaction to Trump's election-by conservative intellectuals, liberals, Democrats, and global leaders alike-goes beyond ordinary partisan and policy disagreements. It reflects genuine fear about the vitality of our constitutional system. The Founders, reaching back to classical precedents, feared that their experiment in mass self-government could produce a demagogue: a charismatic ruler who would gain and hold on to power by manipulating the public rather than by advancing the public good. President Trump, who has played to the mob and attacked institutions from the judiciary to the press, appears to embody these ideas. How can we move past his rhetoric and maintain faith in our great nation? In The Demagogue's Playbook, acclaimed legal scholar Eric Posner offers a blueprint for how America can prevent the rise of a demagogue and protect the features of a democracy that help it thrive-and restore national greatness, for one and all"--, Provided by publisher

Table Of Contents

The Founders' Vision of Elite Governance (1774-1797) -- The Anti-Elite Backlash of Jeffersonian Democracy (1797-1809) -- The First Demagogue: Andrew Jackson (1824-1837) -- The Populist Revolt (1865-1897) -- The Triumph of Elite Technocracy: Theodore Roosevelt to Franklin Roosevelt (1901-1945) -- The Anti-Technocrat Backlash from the New Right (1945-1989) -- The Second Demagogue: Donald Trump (2015-Present)

Target audience

adult

Classification