Social Civics

The election of Donald Trump is a dangerous escalation in a world of cascading crises. Trump's vision - a radical deregulation of the US economy in the interest of corporations, an all-out war on "radical Islamic terrorism", and sweeping aside climate science to unleash a domestic fossil fuel frenzy - will generate wave after wave of crises and shocks to the economy, to national security, to the environment.

*The basis for the documentary Join or Die—now streaming on Netflix!* Updated to include a new chapter about the influence of social media and the Internet—the 20th anniversary edition of Bowling Alone remains a seminal work of social analysis, and its examination of what happened to our...

The Civic Brand: The Power & Responsibility of Place is a bold and practical book that challenges conventional thinking about city-building, tourism, economic development, and community engagement. Author Ryan Short introduces a new framework for shaping more resilient, equitable, and loveable places that is rooted in identity, values, and a triple bottom line.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER “A comprehensive, entertaining, and compelling argument for how rebuilding social infrastructure can help heal divisions in our society and move us forward.”—Jon Stewart NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR “Engaging.”—Mayor Pete Buttigieg, The...

First published in 1971, Rules for Radicals is Saul Alinsky's impassioned counsel to young radicals on how to effect constructive social change and know "the difference between being a realistic radical and being a rhetorical one."

This is the ONLY study material you need for the current Citizenship interview exam.

The global political climate is dynamic, at times even volatile. To understand this evolving landscape, it's important to learn more about how countries are governed. Political Science for Dummies explores the questions that political scientists examine, such as how our leaders make decisions, who shapes political policy, and why countries go to war. The book is the perfect course supplement for students taking college-level introductory political-science courses.

With the threat of the Third Reich looming, Eleanor Roosevelt employs the history of human rights to establish the idea that at the core of democracy is a spiritual responsibility to other citizens. Roosevelt then calls on all Americans, especially the youth, to prioritize the well-being of others and have faith that their fellow citizens will protect them in return. She defines this trust between people as a trait of true democracy. Roosevelt advances an optimistic model for the democracy of the future, and although we've taken some steps in the direction of her vision, it's still a long way from reality.

Humans greatest strength is our ability to adapt to our surroundings, but what if those surroundings are unhealthy? What is the conditions we are growing accustomed to are not fit for our own habitation? What if the very places we find ourselves living are making us sick? The places we shape, in turn, shape our lives. We are a product of our environment and our environment has degraded to the point of having severe consequences for our personal health. As we have experienced decline all around us, we can’t help but follow suit internally. Our places dictate the people we become, the ...

Originally published in 2014, this updated edition of The Revolt of the Public includes an extensive analysis of Donald Trump's improbable rise to the presidency and the electoral triumphs of Brexit and concludes with a speculative look forward, pondering whether the current elite class can bring about a reformation of the democratic process and whether new organizing principles, adapted to a digital world, can arise out of the present political turbulence.

You've heard of the "Great Books"? These are their evil opposites. From Machiavelli's The Prince to Karl Marx's Communist Manifesto to Alfred Kinsey's Sexual Behavior in the Human Male, these "influential" books have led to war, genocide, totalitarian oppression, family breakdown, and disastrous social experiments. And yet these authors' bad ideas are still popular and pervasive. Here with the antidote is Professor Benjamin Wiker.

Americans have come to tolerate, embrace, and even champion many things that would have horrified their parents' generation - from easy divorce and unrestricted abortion on demand to extreme body piercing and teaching homosexuality to grade schoolers. Does that mean today's Americans are inherently more morally confused and depraved than previous generations? Of course not, says veteran journalist David Kupelian.

In Pedagogy of Freedom Paulo Freire travels ever more deeply into the territory where learning and activism are the essence of human life. This profound book shows why an engaged way of learning and teaching is central to the creation of the individual, culture, and history. This book displays the striking creativity and profound insight that characterized Freire's work to the very end of his life—an uplifting and provocative exploration not only for educators, but also for all that learn and live.

Over the last several decades, Americans have become increasingly aware that the people of this nation no longer determine its destiny, despite the intentions our founding fathers made clear in our founding documents. The two-party system has become a weapon used by those in power to maintain the dysfunctional status quo in Washington and on Wall Street. This system has revealed itself to be steeped in corruption, covert agendas, and a fast-evolving surveillance state.

In this pathbreaking book, Jonathan Rauch reaches back to the parallel 18th-century developments of liberal democracy and science to explain what he calls the “Constitution of Knowledge” - our social system for turning disagreement into truth. By explicating the Constitution of Knowledge and probing the war on reality, Rauch arms defenders of truth with a clearer understanding of what they must protect, why they must do - and how they can do it.

What You Should Know About Politics...But Don't breaks it all down, issue by issue, explaining who stands for what, and why - whether it's the economy, income inequality, Obamacare, foreign policy, education, immigration, or climate change. If you're a Democrat, a Republican, or somewhere in between, it's the perfect audiobook to brush up on a single topic or listen through to get a deeper understanding of the often mucky world of American politics.

One of the nation's preeminent scholars and a New York Times bestselling author, Eddie S. Glaude Jr., makes the case that the hard work of becoming a better person should be a critical feature of Black politics. Through virtuoso interpretations of Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and Ella Baker, Glaude shows how we have the power to be the heroes that our democracy so desperately requires.

Something basic is missing in our culture. Americans know it. Nothing much works as it should. Simple daily choices seem impossible, or fraught with peril. In the workplace, we walk on eggshells. Big projects get stalled in years of review. Endemic social problems such as homelessness become, well, more endemic. Everyday Freedom offers a radical reinterpretation of the corrosion of American culture.

Is democracy in trouble, perhaps even dying? Pundits say so, and polls show that most Americans believe that their country's system of governance is being "tested" or is "under attack." But is the future of democracy necessarily so dire? In The Civic Bargain, Brook Manville and Josiah Ober push back against the prevailing pessimism about the fate of democracy around the world. Instead of an epitaph for democracy, they offer a guide for democratic renewal, calling on citizens to recommit to a "civic bargain" with one another to guarantee civic rights of freedom, equality, and dignity.

This is a high school-level civics textbook, but readers of all ages will benefit from it. Discover the inner workings of our government so that you can become an effective, engaged citizen and be equipped for self-government. This is necessary if you wish to preserve and enhance our great Republic. What does government actually do, and does it do too much or too little? What are the basics about elections? Who funds these campaigns?. See how Congress works “behind the veil.” Deals. Trades. Power. Two major political parties dominate our politics. How does that work? We elect a ...