Issue #25, Summer 2012

Decision 2024: Our Parties, Our Politics

In this election season, we think ahead to a future one and ask: In 12 years, what will our parties and our politics look like? The Latino explosion; the rise of the millennials; the retirement of the boomers; the evolution—or not—of the GOP. Nine contributors examine how these and other factors will affect our ability to govern.

The Looming Showdown

Peter Orszag: Come next January, our dysfunctional system will have to function. Here’s one possible path toward an outside-the-box budget deal.

Why History Matters to Liberalism

E.J. Dionne Jr.: If the Tea Party is to be believed, radical individualism has defined American history. But their story is wrong, and progressives must say so.

Still a Jungle

Adam Sheingate: In an environment of drug-resistant pathogens and “pink slime,” why do the food industry and government place the onus for safety on consumers?

 

The Disappeared

Kim Phillips-Fein: Conservatives today deride moderate GOPers as “Republicans in Name Only.” But they used to matter—until the politics of passion overwhelmed them.

Notes from the Undercity

James Crabtree: Katherine Boo’s new book documents the resourcefulness of Mumbai’s poor, even as it describes a nation incapable of lifting them up.

Failure Is an Option

James Kwak: Two scholars scan history to find that nations fall because once-open institutions become closed and corrupt. If this sounds ominous, it should.

Mère Knows Best

Sarah Blustain: Is the American mother really a slave to her child? Is breast-feeding really anti-feminist? The newest salvos in the Mommy Wars, French edition.

Untamed Tiger

Chris Mooney: ExxonMobil acts like a nation-state unto itself. But we can’t expect it to change its ways until we do.

We Might Overcome

Eric Rauchway: The stories of liberalism and radicalism are replete with great triumphs—and regular reminders of why the fight for change can be so exhausting.

 

Editor’s Note

Michael Tomasky: Michael Tomasky introduces Issue #25.

The Forgotten Communitarian

Will Marshall: Why are Bill Clinton’s contributions to restoring the language of civic obligation so regularly and casually overlooked? A response to James T. Kloppenberg.

Seeing Red

Thomas B. Edsall: Yes, certain trends may favor Democrats. But there’s no denying how dramatically conservatives have shifted the national debate. A response to Larry M. Bartels.

Letters to the Editor

Democracy Readers: Letters from our readers

Revenue Neutered

Elbert Ventura: Even when taxes were much higher than today, liberals were hesitant to tell the public why revenues were needed. This needs to change.

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