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Many of these entries are reviews of books—some new, some less
new—relating to democracy in the US. Our particular angle is: how can
this inform the development of citizen education about national issues?

Coming Soon

  1. (Book Review) Uncivil Agreement: How Politics Became Our Identity, by Lilliana Mason
  2. (Book Review) Why Do They Vote That Way? from The Righteous Mind, by Jonathan Haidt

All Entries

US Government Paralysis and the Context of World History

By David Foster
August 25, 2018
A review of Political Order and Political Decay: From the Industrial Revolution to the Globalization of Democracy (Authors: Francis Fukuyama)

Is Democracy as Bad as Achen and Bartels Say It Is?

By David Foster
August 14, 2018
A review of Democracy for Realists: Why Elections Do Not Produce Responsive Government (Authors: Christopher Achen and Larry Bartels)

Do We Even Need a Solution?

By David Foster
July 27, 2018
There is a lot of anxiety today about the failings of our democracy—the polarization, the inability to solve national problems. Shouldn’t we do something about it?

Citizens’ Ambivalence about Political Involvement

By David Foster
July 20, 2018
A review of Stealth Democracy: Americans’ Beliefs About How Government Should Work (Authors: John R. Hibbing and Elizabeth Theiss-Morse)

How to Coax Tea Party Citizens Away from Resentment

By David Foster
July 10, 2018
A review of Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right (Author: Arlie Russell Hochschild)

A Sense of Proportion about Inequality in the World

By David Foster
July 8, 2018
A review of The Haves and the Have-Nots: A Brief and Idiosyncratic History of Global Inequality (Author: Branko Milanovic)

Applying the Concept of Learner Empathy to National Issues

By David Foster
June 18, 2018
A review of The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person’s Guide to Writing in the 21st Century (Author: Steven Pinker)

Systematic Voter Biases about Economics

By David Foster
June 18, 2018
A review of The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad Policies (Author: Bryan Caplan)

  • Contributors:

  •  
  • David Foster, Ph.D.
  • David Foster is the Executive Director of Know The System, Inc.    Prior to Know The System, David was Chief Academic Officer at ExecOnline, a New York based provider of online education. He earned an MBA from U.C. Berkeley in 1986, and a Ph.D. in learning technology and cognitive science from Northwestern University in 1996. He is not a licensed political scientist.