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November 2016

"Democracy for an Age of Distrust"

Philip K. Howard sings the same song, with a few added flourishes in light of recent events, that he's been singing for a couple of decades or so.

But's it's a good song.

The solution to powerlessness—the only solution—is to re-empower human agency at all levels of society. I’ll assert two first principles that hold the key to remaking a healthy democracy . . . .

Related: "Governing local is governing best" and "Unity through Federalism".

Wouldn’t it be great if we didn’t have to care quite so deeply about who controlled the White House? Wouldn’t it be better if we didn’t have to care who might be appointed to the Supreme Court beyond knowing he or she was qualified to wisely answer questions of law? Wouldn’t it be nice if we didn’t have to care who the bureaucrats were because their duties weren’t so consequential?