A book for our times

This book explains... how we got here and into the mess we are in from Trump to Brexit and beyond. From policy to the causes of voter dissatisfaction, it is not merely a critique but offers solutions too.The book was written in pre pandemic era so it is interesting to note Populist leaders have another thing in common, a catastrophic handling of the current pandemic crisis. Who you vote for matters and this book argues that the future of liberal democracy itself is now at risk and from a historical perspective it is something no-one should be complacent about. The book is a timely warning.

Well argued, clear, good narration and overall thought provoking.

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Good. but basically no references to Asia.

Good. but basically all references are related to the Western world and very little on Asia.

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Very relevant, interesting take

This book writes about a much pondered topic. It is very much informed by political science thinking above all else but is easy to understand if that is not your speciality. It focuses on the why liberal democracy is under threat from populism. My belief is that this is so, however if you believe liberal democracy has become very inconsistent in it's application, you may feel the book is a bit thin on how this has lead to disillusionment and thus a rise in populism. Nevertheless it had my full attention for the whole 8 hours and offered a great perspective.

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Well-argued, readable book with some overclaiming

A topical and well-researched book with a strong central thesis and stirring defence of liberal democracy. I thought he brought a lot of impressive data to the table, although readers should note that some of the core findings, especially re: millennials turning away from democracy, have been questioned. I liked that it discussed populism/authoritarianism as a global phenomenon and looked at a variety of countries such as South Korea and Poland. But there were some sections that were a touch weak, to my mind. Mounk goes against almost the entirety of the literature on Trump's election to date to argue the fault is equally shared between 'nativism' and economic factors - but brings very little in the way of compelling evidence in support of this. Overall, the book is well-worth reading - even if it sometimes over-states its case. It's contributing to some important conversations. But I would suggest reading some of the criticism of the book and also listening to the Ezra Klein podcasts where he grills Mounk about some of the arguments.

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4 people found this helpful

Necessary, not comforting

This book questions how resistant democracy is to populist attack. It’s not a feel good book, but an important discourse.

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