America, Compromised
5/5
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this ebook
So begins Lawrence Lessig's sweeping indictment of contemporary American institutions and the corruption that besets them. We can all see it—from the selling of Congress to special interests to the corporate capture of the academy. Something is wrong. It’s getting worse.
And it’s our fault. What Lessig shows, brilliantly and persuasively, is that we can’t blame the problems of contemporary American life on bad people, as our discourse all too often tends to do. Rather, he explains, “We have allowed core institutions of America’s economic, social, and political life to become corrupted. Not by evil souls, but by good souls. Not through crime, but through compromise.” Every one of us, every day, making the modest compromises that seem necessary to keep moving along, is contributing to the rot at the core of American civic life. Through case studies of Congress, finance, the academy, the media, and the law, Lessig shows how institutions are drawn away from higher purposes and toward money, power, quick rewards—the first steps to corruption.
Lessig knows that a charge so broad should not be levied lightly, and that our instinct will be to resist it. So he brings copious, damning detail gleaned from years of research, building a case that is all but incontrovertible: America is on the wrong path. If we don’t acknowledge our own part in that, and act now to change it, we will hand our children a less perfect union than we were given. It will be a long struggle. This book represents the first steps.
Lawrence Lessig
Lawrence Lessig is the Roy L. Furman Professor of Law and Leadership at Harvard Law School, host of the podcast Another Way, founder of equalcitizens.us, and co-founder of Creative Commons. He clerked for Judge Richard Posner on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals and Justice Antonin Scalia on the United States Supreme Court. Lessig has received numerous awards, including a Webby Life Time Achievement Award, the Free Software Foundation's Freedom Award, the Fastcase 50 Award, and he was named one of Scientific American's Top 50 Visionaries. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society, and the author of ten books, including Republic, Lost. He lives in Brookline, Massachusetts.
Read more from Lawrence Lessig
America, Compromised Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5They Don't Represent Us: Reclaiming Our Democracy Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Boy Who Could Change the World: The Writings of Aaron Swartz Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related to America, Compromised
Related ebooks
With Liberty and Justice for Some: How the Law Is Used to Destroy Equality and Protect the Powerful Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5One Nation Undecided: Clear Thinking about Five Hard Issues That Divide Us Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5What's the Matter with Kansas?: How Conservatives Won the Heart of America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Cult of the Constitution Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Price of Justice: The Myths of Lawyer Ethics Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Chickenshit Club: Why the Justice Department Fails to Prosecute Executives Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Second Amendment: A Biography Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unwarranted: Policing Without Permission Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hiding in Plain Sight: The Invention of Donald Trump and the Erosion of America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Not a Crime to Be Poor: The Criminalization of Poverty in America Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The NRA: The Unauthorized History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Wrecking Crew: How Conservatives Rule Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This Land Is Their Land: Reports from a Divided Nation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Demagogue's Playbook: The Battle for American Democracy from the Founders to Trump Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Conscience of a Conservative Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Privilege and Punishment: How Race and Class Matter in Criminal Court Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhat the Anti-Federalists Were For: The Political Thought of the Opponents of the Constitution Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Loaded: A Disarming History of the Second Amendment Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mitch, Please!: How Mitch McConnell Sold Out Kentucky (and America, Too) Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Restoring the Lost Constitution: The Presumption of Liberty - Updated Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5That Used to Be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World It Invented and How We Can Come Back Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Let the People Pick the President: The Case for Abolishing the Electoral College Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ordinary Injustice: How America Holds Court Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The People’s Constitution: 200 Years, 27 Amendments, and the Promise of a More Perfect Union Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Hidden History of American Oligarchy: Reclaiming Our Democracy from the Ruling Class Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Curse of Bigness: Antitrust in the New Gilded Age Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Code of Capital: How the Law Creates Wealth and Inequality Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tax the Rich!: How Lies, Loopholes, and Lobbyists Make the Rich Even Richer Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Law For You
Wills and Trusts Kit For Dummies Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Win Your Case: How to Present, Persuade, and Prevail--Every Place, Every Time Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Legal Words You Should Know: Over 1,000 Essential Terms to Understand Contracts, Wills, and the Legal System Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Verbal Judo, Second Edition: The Gentle Art of Persuasion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Trans: When Ideology Meets Reality Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Everything Guide To Being A Paralegal: Winning Secrets to a Successful Career! Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Legal Writing in Plain English: A Text with Exercises Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Estate & Trust Administration For Dummies Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNo Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5No Stone Unturned: The True Story of the World's Premier Forensic Investigators Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The LLC and Corporation Start-Up Guide: Your Complete Guide to Launching the Right Business Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Paralegal's Handbook: A Complete Reference for All Your Daily Tasks Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Critical Race Theory: The Cutting Edge Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Law For Dummies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/58 Living Trust Forms: Legal Self-Help Guide Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Socratic Method: A Practitioner's Handbook Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Law Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The ZERO Percent: Secrets of the United States, the Power of Trust, Nationality, Banking and ZERO TAXES! Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Think Like a Lawyer--and Why: A Common-Sense Guide to Everyday Dilemmas Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Win In Court Every Time Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Death in Mud Lick: A Coal Country Fight against the Drug Companies That Delivered the Opioid Epidemic Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Everything Executor and Trustee Book: A Step-by-Step Guide to Estate and Trust Administration Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Dictionary of Legal Terms: Definitions and Explanations for Non-Lawyers Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Pro Se Litigant's Civil Litigation Handbook: How to Represent Yourself in a Civil Lawsuit Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Mueller Report: Final Special Counsel Report of President Donald Trump and Russia Collusion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for America, Compromised
2 ratings0 reviews