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Two Cheers for Politics: Why Democracy Is Flawed, Frightening―and Our Best Hope
One of the country’s most astute legal scholars explains how American political culture disempowers ordinary citizens and makes the case for a reinvigorated democracy
Americans across the political spectrum agree that our democracy is in crisis. We view our political opponents with disdain, if not terror, and an increasing number of us are willing to consider authoritarian alternatives. In Two Cheers for Politics , Jedediah Purdy argues that this heated political culture is a symptom not of too much democracy but too little. Today, the decisions that most affect our lives and our communities are often made outside the political realm entirely, as market ideology, constitutional law, and cultural norms effectively remove broad swaths of collective life from the table of collective decision. The result is a weakened and ineffective political system and an increasingly unequal and polarized society. If we wish to renew that society, we’ll need to claw back the ground that we’ve ceded to anti-politics and entrust one another with the power to shape our common life.
Americans across the political spectrum agree that our democracy is in crisis. We view our political opponents with disdain, if not terror, and an increasing number of us are willing to consider authoritarian alternatives. In Two Cheers for Politics , Jedediah Purdy argues that this heated political culture is a symptom not of too much democracy but too little. Today, the decisions that most affect our lives and our communities are often made outside the political realm entirely, as market ideology, constitutional law, and cultural norms effectively remove broad swaths of collective life from the table of collective decision. The result is a weakened and ineffective political system and an increasingly unequal and polarized society. If we wish to renew that society, we’ll need to claw back the ground that we’ve ceded to anti-politics and entrust one another with the power to shape our common life.
304 pages, Hardcover
Published August 30, 2022
14 people are currently reading
231 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 10, 2025
Don’t let the pop-politics cover fool you: this is actually pretty great!
Purdy is remarkably clear-eyed about how much our democracy doesn’t actually embody democratic values. We are beset by everything from unequal representation that cements minoritarian rule, to a constitution that places an economic sphere outside the bounds of politics.
Shit sucks, but he makes one of the best cases I’ve seen for why the democratic impulse is important, how a lot of the folk wisdom around it came about, and what a democratic society would look like today. (A lot different, that’s for sure.)
The best part is that he does not write down to the imagined reader or frame his argument in a way that makes it seem instantly dated. Perhaps the quality here is (plus coming out in 2022) is why it didn’t take off as a best-seller compared to some of the other options.
Purdy is remarkably clear-eyed about how much our democracy doesn’t actually embody democratic values. We are beset by everything from unequal representation that cements minoritarian rule, to a constitution that places an economic sphere outside the bounds of politics.
Shit sucks, but he makes one of the best cases I’ve seen for why the democratic impulse is important, how a lot of the folk wisdom around it came about, and what a democratic society would look like today. (A lot different, that’s for sure.)
The best part is that he does not write down to the imagined reader or frame his argument in a way that makes it seem instantly dated. Perhaps the quality here is (plus coming out in 2022) is why it didn’t take off as a best-seller compared to some of the other options.
March 27, 2025
I have my qualms with some of Purdy’s arguments but this book is extremely important to understanding what we can do about authoritarianism and capitalism instead of just giving up and losing hope
abandoned
May 12, 2023Read the introduction and first chapter. Writing was overly convoluted. The subject was interesting if I understood it properly, something like “what actually is democracy? And why, despite its flaws, is democracy the best way to govern?” But based on the first 40 pages, I didn’t trust that the author could clearly explain anything or make a good case for his argument.
October 15, 2022
Purdy has some gems in his book, but overall, it's really not readable.
The last paragraph of his overwhelmingly long introduction is one such gem:
What does it mean to put democracy first? It means asking whether our culture, our economy, and our politics help us to see one another as equals who can rule together. It means recognizing how culture, economy, and politics can undercut both democratic equality and the civic solidarity and trust that people need if they are to rule together. It means unlearning the habit of imagining that things will take care of themselves and crises will ease spontaneously, that political responses are unnecessary and dangerous, and that in any case we really cannot rule ourselves and should not try. These ideas have worked themselves deep into our thinking. We cannot afford to assume they are true.
I most emphatically believe in that concept. But I don't believe Purdy writes for people who need to read what he has to say. Even that paragraph is cumbersome. My wish is for Purdy to find an editor who can corral his ideas, help him get over any possible sovereignty complex he MIGHT have because of being a professor, and rewrite the book into something readable and usable.
The last paragraph of his overwhelmingly long introduction is one such gem:
What does it mean to put democracy first? It means asking whether our culture, our economy, and our politics help us to see one another as equals who can rule together. It means recognizing how culture, economy, and politics can undercut both democratic equality and the civic solidarity and trust that people need if they are to rule together. It means unlearning the habit of imagining that things will take care of themselves and crises will ease spontaneously, that political responses are unnecessary and dangerous, and that in any case we really cannot rule ourselves and should not try. These ideas have worked themselves deep into our thinking. We cannot afford to assume they are true.
I most emphatically believe in that concept. But I don't believe Purdy writes for people who need to read what he has to say. Even that paragraph is cumbersome. My wish is for Purdy to find an editor who can corral his ideas, help him get over any possible sovereignty complex he MIGHT have because of being a professor, and rewrite the book into something readable and usable.
March 30, 2024
3.5 stars! it was a good book and interesting read but i really needed my democratic theory professor’s insight into this book and his explanations to get the most out of it. i liked that it applied theory to modern politics and democracy.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews