The Great Experiment: Why Diverse Democracies Fall Apart and How They Can Endure
- Downloads：3372
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-05-06 08:51:55
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Yascha Mounk
- ISBN：0593296818
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
From one of our sharpest and most important political thinkers， a brilliant big-picture vision of the greatest challenge of our time--how to bridge the bitter divides within diverse democracies enough for them to remain stable and functional
Some democracies are highly homogeneous。 Others have long maintained a brutal racial or religious hierarchy， with some groups dominating and exploiting others。 Never in history has a democracy succeeded in being both diverse and equal， treating members of many different ethnic or religious groups fairly。 And yet achieving that goal is now central to the democratic project in countries around the world。 It is， Yascha Mounk argues， the greatest experiment of our time。
Drawing on history， social psychology， and comparative politics， Mounk examines how diverse societies have long suffered from the ills of domination， fragmentation， or structured anarchy。 So it is hardly surprising that most people are now deeply pessimistic that different groups might be able to integrate in harmony， celebrating their differences without essentializing them。 But Mounk shows us that the past can offer crucial insights for how to do better in the future。 There is real reason for hope。
It is up to us and the institutions we build whether different groups will come to see each other as enemies or friends， as strangers or compatriots。 To make diverse democracies endure， and even thrive， we need to create a world in which our ascriptive identities come to matter less--not because we ignore the injustices that still characterize the United States and so many other countries around the world， 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， giving up on the prospects of building fair and thriving 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。
Some democracies are highly homogeneous。 Others have long maintained a brutal racial or religious hierarchy， with some groups dominating and exploiting others。 Never in history has a democracy succeeded in being both diverse and equal， treating members of many different ethnic or religious groups fairly。 And yet achieving that goal is now central to the democratic project in countries around the world。 It is， Yascha Mounk argues， the greatest experiment of our time。
Drawing on history， social psychology， and comparative politics， Mounk examines how diverse societies have long suffered from the ills of domination， fragmentation， or structured anarchy。 So it is hardly surprising that most people are now deeply pessimistic that different groups might be able to integrate in harmony， celebrating their differences without essentializing them。 But Mounk shows us that the past can offer crucial insights for how to do better in the future。 There is real reason for hope。
It is up to us and the institutions we build whether different groups will come to see each other as enemies or friends， as strangers or compatriots。 To make diverse democracies endure， and even thrive， we need to create a world in which our ascriptive identities come to matter less--not because we ignore the injustices that still characterize the United States and so many other countries around the world， 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， giving up on the prospects of building fair and thriving 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。
Reviews
Chris Boutté
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This was the first book I’ve read from Yascha Mounk， and I’m a fan。 This was a really interesting book with a fresh take on issues going on in the United States as well as other democratic countries。 Yascha Mounk starts by telling the story about how he was speaking somewhere and said “The Great Experiment” isn’t working， and he got some backlash。 Basically， he discusses how the diversity of all these different cultures mixing together leads to problems we never really considered or planned for， This was the first book I’ve read from Yascha Mounk， and I’m a fan。 This was a really interesting book with a fresh take on issues going on in the United States as well as other democratic countries。 Yascha Mounk starts by telling the story about how he was speaking somewhere and said “The Great Experiment” isn’t working， and he got some backlash。 Basically， he discusses how the diversity of all these different cultures mixing together leads to problems we never really considered or planned for， and this is still kind of new。As a psychology nerd， what I really liked was how Mounk starts out by explaining how we’re naturally tribal and the research that explains why that is like the minimal group paradigm research。 He then dives into a ton of different issues we face while also providing stories from around the world， which educated me quite a bit and let me know that this isn’t uniquely American。 Many of the issues he discusses and his diagnosis were some things I haven’t considered， so it was pretty enlightening。Finally， I think he ended the book incredibly。 He discussed the “chapter 10 dilemma”， which is when authors tackle big issues and big ideas in a book， but there aren’t easy fixes。 So， he lays out some ideas that are pretty well thought out。 Overall， I highly recommend the book， and I’ll probably start reading some more of his stuff soon。 。。。more
Stetson
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