The Great Experiment

Why Diverse Democracies Fall Apart and How They Can Endure

By: Yascha Mounk

Narrated by: JD Jackson

One of Barack Obama's Recommended Reads for Summer

“[A] brave and necessary book . . . Anyone interested in the future of liberal democracy, in the US or anywhere else, should read this book.” —Anne Applebaum

“A convincing, humane, and hopeful guide to the present and future by one of our foremost democratic thinkers.” —George Packer

“A rare thing: [an] academic treatise . . . that may actually have influence in the arena of practical politics. . . . Passionate and personal.” —Joe Klein, New York Times Book Review

From one of our sharpest political thinkers, a brilliant big-picture vision of how to bridge the bitter divides within diverse democracies

Never in history has a democracy succeeded in being both diverse and equal, treating different ethnic or religious groups fairly. And yet achieving that goal is now central to the democratic project. It is, Yascha Mounk argues, the greatest experiment of our time. Drawing on history, social psychology, and comparative politics, Mounk explains why we need to create a world in which our ascriptive identities come to matter less—not because we ignore global injustices, but because we have succeeded in addressing them.

The Great Experiment is that rare book that offers both a profound understanding of an urgent problem and genuine hope for our human capacity to solve it. As Mounk contends, it is up to us and the institutions we build whether we come to see each other as strangers or compatriots. Giving up on the prospect of diverse democracies is simply not an option—and that is why we must strive to realize a more ambitious vision for the future of our societies.

Great overview of a meta phenomenon

An honest and thorough accounting of the distinctly modern phenomena of diverse and representative democracy’s.

Read this and I promise you will feel better!

An in depth look at the theory behind diverse democracies written in an easy to understand style with lots of examples and well earned optimism

Excellent- well constructed and thought provoking. Balanced

Excellent well balanced presentation of the challenges faced by democracies. Readers on both sides of the political spectrum should find great insights.

Intellectually honest and optimistic

This is a well-researched and intellectually honest book that addresses America’s underlying divisions and how it can overcome them. It is unsparingly honest, yet balanced and upbeat, reminding readers of the strengths and successes of the American experiment so far. It is by building upon these - rather than forming new sub-group divisions - that this great experiment can endure.

Unbiased

I’ve read quite a few books on democracy the last few years for obvious reasons. This one was very good. The author managed to hit on issues from both the right and the left as well as possible solutions for all democratic backsliding.