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The Chronic Crisis of American Democracy: The Way Is Shut
This book argues that American democracy is in crisis. The economic system is slowly subjecting Americans of nearly all income levels and backgrounds to enormous amounts of stress. The United States lacks the state capacity required to alleviate this stress, and politicians increasingly find that if they promise to solve economic problems, they are likely to disappoint voters. Instead, they encourage voters to blame each other. The crisis cannot be solved, the economy cannot be set right, and democracy cannot be saved. But American democracy cannot be killed, either. Americans can’t imagine any compelling alternative political systems. And so, American democracy continues on, in a deeply unsatisfying way. Americans invent ever-more elaborate coping mechanisms in a desperate bid to go on. But it becomes increasingly clear that the way is shut. The American political system was made by those who are dead, and the dead keep it.
218 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 17, 2023
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226 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
July 22, 2023
"This is a bleak book." Benjamin Studebaker declares in Chapter 6 and he's not wrong. And yet I found it oddly comforting. I would have found it more comforting if he had made a convincing argument that there is a clear path to significant political change or revolution. However, the fact that he so effectively describes the dead ends I have come up against in my own efforts to remain politically engaged has confirmed my faith in my own judgment. I don't take that as permission to check out all together, but it certainly helps me manage my efforts and expectations appropriately.
I don't expect this book will fly off the shelves. As Studebaker also points out in Chapter 6, "It is much easier to sell a book that offers hope." But as someone who has a low tolerance for bullcrap, I find this clear and concise explanation of some bleak truths more valuable.
I don't expect this book will fly off the shelves. As Studebaker also points out in Chapter 6, "It is much easier to sell a book that offers hope." But as someone who has a low tolerance for bullcrap, I find this clear and concise explanation of some bleak truths more valuable.
May 4, 2023
I love to learn.
This book is simple to understand but gives a lot of information and perspective.
My personal favorite part is "the four F's" which are Faith, Family, Fandoms, and Futurism. These things are how people hide from despair in modern America. I think it is a good way to self-reflect on what we do to cope with social stress.
In general, I like how this book is open to all sides and sympathetic to all people's struggles and problems. It is easy to fight and villonize different groups, but this book goes beyond that.
Very thought-provoking.
This book is simple to understand but gives a lot of information and perspective.
My personal favorite part is "the four F's" which are Faith, Family, Fandoms, and Futurism. These things are how people hide from despair in modern America. I think it is a good way to self-reflect on what we do to cope with social stress.
In general, I like how this book is open to all sides and sympathetic to all people's struggles and problems. It is easy to fight and villonize different groups, but this book goes beyond that.
Very thought-provoking.
October 27, 2023
Let me start by saying this has the best usage of the Lord of the Rings quote, "the way is shut". This was primarily one of the reasons I decided to read it. I found the book clear focused on detailing what prevents this country from dealing with crises and how it operates.
The major hurdle in people reading this is probably the upfront cost: almost 40 dollars for the eBook version is not something most people would want to purchase. If the goal is to educate each other on our conditions, the book should be more accessible.
I agree almost entirely with the author in his premise that we cannot solve the problem of "democracy" in this country. I don't think the way is shut, I know it IS shut. The Bourgeoisie (Oligarchs in this book) have completely captured all major political institutions here. We're left with few options to retreat from public life and just suffer continued deterioration because we are unable to envision another system. If we look at it from what I'll call a radical liberal perspective, the yes, there is no hope. Playing by the rules laid out to us, nothing can fundamentally change the status quo.
I'll bring my major critique here because while I also think we are stuck, he is limiting his view of how regular people might respond. If all avenues are out for us the fix the problem with the parliamentary road then there is, in my opinion, a logical conclusion that power must be built outside of it for a revolutionary cause. The road to revolution is a long and arduous one with few guarantees. The country cannot reform, that much is clear. It will continue to decline and we cannot save it. What will come in it's place? In my opinion, it'll be the masses themselves who organize and exact concessions from the ruling class. The world isn't mechanical, but dialectical, and contradictions will continue to intensify, while pushing forward development. I'm not going to say I have the answers, that would be arrogant and self serving. The author says he hopes this sparks conversation and that is what I'd like to do here. The struggle for liberation will not end. As Mao said, "the masses are the makers of history". They are clever and resourceful. What forms this will take will need to be decided together. The current way is shut, we will find another.
The major hurdle in people reading this is probably the upfront cost: almost 40 dollars for the eBook version is not something most people would want to purchase. If the goal is to educate each other on our conditions, the book should be more accessible.
I agree almost entirely with the author in his premise that we cannot solve the problem of "democracy" in this country. I don't think the way is shut, I know it IS shut. The Bourgeoisie (Oligarchs in this book) have completely captured all major political institutions here. We're left with few options to retreat from public life and just suffer continued deterioration because we are unable to envision another system. If we look at it from what I'll call a radical liberal perspective, the yes, there is no hope. Playing by the rules laid out to us, nothing can fundamentally change the status quo.
I'll bring my major critique here because while I also think we are stuck, he is limiting his view of how regular people might respond. If all avenues are out for us the fix the problem with the parliamentary road then there is, in my opinion, a logical conclusion that power must be built outside of it for a revolutionary cause. The road to revolution is a long and arduous one with few guarantees. The country cannot reform, that much is clear. It will continue to decline and we cannot save it. What will come in it's place? In my opinion, it'll be the masses themselves who organize and exact concessions from the ruling class. The world isn't mechanical, but dialectical, and contradictions will continue to intensify, while pushing forward development. I'm not going to say I have the answers, that would be arrogant and self serving. The author says he hopes this sparks conversation and that is what I'd like to do here. The struggle for liberation will not end. As Mao said, "the masses are the makers of history". They are clever and resourceful. What forms this will take will need to be decided together. The current way is shut, we will find another.
September 28, 2024
Currently rereading my notes and upping to a 5. This shit goes hard
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July 24, 2023I love Studebaker’s writing. It’s disciplined but clear. He doesn’t shy away from concrete examples from modern politics while also bringing in Aristotelian philosophy and literature (specifically, here, Lord of the Rings lol). While this is essentially anti-solution presenting, it still felt like taking deep breaths of relief in just knowing that there is a way to look at our morass with some form of clarity.
March 26, 2026
I originally wrote this review in early 2024.
I've been following Studebaker a lot recently because, even though he has a Ph.D. from Cambridge, he comes out with analysis that is relevant and digestible for working people, drawing on his combined decade of experience as a student, agitator, and political theorist. He puts his finger on why exactly many new political movements have been unable to deliver on their promises and how that relates to geopolitics and the economy, and what kind of effect it has on the relationship between working people and politics. While many theorists try to look at the situation today affirmatively in terms of "how is this similar to other situations in the past, and how can past strategies be useful today," Studebaker approaches it negatively: "how is today different, and why does nothing seem to be working?" To back himself up, he provides hundreds of sources, draws on a long history of political theory, and demonstrates a studied, materialist understanding of the world.
Studebaker elaborates on his theory of chronic crisis. While the traditional acute crisis applies to a situation where something is on the verge of collapse and now requires great effort to rescue, Studebaker's chronic crisis refers to a situation that no longer satisfies people, but is not facing a threat of collapse. Specifically, in the context of American democracy, it is a system where all sides agree that democracy is good and must be maintained, but fundamentally disagree on what democracy looks like and what is necessary to maintain or reinforce it. Thus, American democracy is stuck in a state where reforms fail to pass, and this lack of dynamism means that the government is unable to address issues that matter to working people or support ideological projects. Simultaneously, nobody wants to replace it with any kind of alternative system, in large part because alternative systems have either failed (e.g., the defeat of the Axis Powers or the collapse of the Eastern Bloc) or because they seem outwardly unappealing (e.g., China or Russia). The acute crisis is scary because it looks like it might end at any moment; the chronic crisis is scary because it looks like it might never end.
There are many other issues that Studebaker addresses while building on his theory, like the increased economic stresses on working people, the intensifying culture war between blue-collar and white-collar workers, the effect of the market on political agitation and media, and the increasing atomization and alienation people feel towards one another as communities and families are being displaced by an increasing need for workers to be mobile and flexible in order to be competitive.
The ultimate goal of the book is to induce despair in the reader, but a "good kind" of despair - the kind that forces people to give up on things that don't work and start getting creative so that we can figure out something that works.
In conclusion, the book opens a new generation of introspective thinking that provides a sobering reflection on a decade of dead-end projects and points out what is lacking. Though it may be grim to learn all the ways in which past approaches have failed and how change is getting harder, it is also liberating, because it means we need no longer tie ourselves to the baggage of past failures. It is books like Studebaker's that give us reason to start thinking again.
I've been following Studebaker a lot recently because, even though he has a Ph.D. from Cambridge, he comes out with analysis that is relevant and digestible for working people, drawing on his combined decade of experience as a student, agitator, and political theorist. He puts his finger on why exactly many new political movements have been unable to deliver on their promises and how that relates to geopolitics and the economy, and what kind of effect it has on the relationship between working people and politics. While many theorists try to look at the situation today affirmatively in terms of "how is this similar to other situations in the past, and how can past strategies be useful today," Studebaker approaches it negatively: "how is today different, and why does nothing seem to be working?" To back himself up, he provides hundreds of sources, draws on a long history of political theory, and demonstrates a studied, materialist understanding of the world.
Studebaker elaborates on his theory of chronic crisis. While the traditional acute crisis applies to a situation where something is on the verge of collapse and now requires great effort to rescue, Studebaker's chronic crisis refers to a situation that no longer satisfies people, but is not facing a threat of collapse. Specifically, in the context of American democracy, it is a system where all sides agree that democracy is good and must be maintained, but fundamentally disagree on what democracy looks like and what is necessary to maintain or reinforce it. Thus, American democracy is stuck in a state where reforms fail to pass, and this lack of dynamism means that the government is unable to address issues that matter to working people or support ideological projects. Simultaneously, nobody wants to replace it with any kind of alternative system, in large part because alternative systems have either failed (e.g., the defeat of the Axis Powers or the collapse of the Eastern Bloc) or because they seem outwardly unappealing (e.g., China or Russia). The acute crisis is scary because it looks like it might end at any moment; the chronic crisis is scary because it looks like it might never end.
There are many other issues that Studebaker addresses while building on his theory, like the increased economic stresses on working people, the intensifying culture war between blue-collar and white-collar workers, the effect of the market on political agitation and media, and the increasing atomization and alienation people feel towards one another as communities and families are being displaced by an increasing need for workers to be mobile and flexible in order to be competitive.
The ultimate goal of the book is to induce despair in the reader, but a "good kind" of despair - the kind that forces people to give up on things that don't work and start getting creative so that we can figure out something that works.
In conclusion, the book opens a new generation of introspective thinking that provides a sobering reflection on a decade of dead-end projects and points out what is lacking. Though it may be grim to learn all the ways in which past approaches have failed and how change is getting harder, it is also liberating, because it means we need no longer tie ourselves to the baggage of past failures. It is books like Studebaker's that give us reason to start thinking again.
Want to read
November 1, 2024Studebaker explains why proportional representation is not necessarily a way for the left to improve its political power, in this article https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/2... in Current Affairs magazine, 2022.06
Goodreads ambiguates this author's name:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
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https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1...
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Goodreads ambiguates this author's name:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1...
https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Be...
May 4, 2023
I wrote it, so of course I like it. It's not an adaptation of a PhD thesis. Anyone should be able to read it. I hope it helps people from all backgrounds think about the problems with our system and what, if anything, can be done about them.
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