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Republic, Lost: How Money Corrupts Congress--and A Plan To Stop It (2011)

by Lawrence Lessig(Favorite Author)

4.14 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

0446576433 (ISBN13: 9780446576437)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Twelve

review 1: Lessig did a good job convincing me that the "gift" economy he describes is at the root of many problems in Congress. I was disappointed, though, in his solutions at the end of the book. Running candidates focused solely on this issue who will resign once reform is enacted (if by some miracle they are elected)? Having state legislatures call constitutional conventions under a nearly forgotten provision of the Constitution? In fairness, he describes these as far-fetched, as the extreme acts of a starry-eyed lover out to save his beloved United States. But if his goal, as he mentions, is to give hope and thus prevent people from disengaging from the situation he describes in the rest of the book, then those solutions are unlikely to inspire that type of engagement, in my opi... morenion.
review 2: Lets get this out of the way... Lessig is a Democrat and was an Obama supporter in the 08 campaign. He was, however, disspointed with Obama's failure to follow through on a lot of the "change" promises that never materialized (IOW, no catering to special interests, etc.). The book, however, is fair and neutral, and is critical of policies on BOTH sides of the aisle.He not only covers a lot of the major issues of the day (healthcare, the stock market/wall street/financial collapse, campaign finance, Citizens United, the tax code, and more), he does so in an even-handed way and discusses in an easy to understand manor the problems, how and why they came about, and potential solutions to these problems.To put it simply, this is a book that everyone in politics should read, regardless of your ideology, and it would behoove EVERYONE in Congress to read it as well. Of all the similar books that I have read so far, this one is the most evenhanded, logically thought out, and presents real, viable solutions, even if they may not be THE solution. If you want to understand how our congress works, and why their first priority is themselves (as in re-election and special interests), then party policies, and then their constituency, then this is the book to read. Highly recommended for anyone interested in politics and how our political system is inherently broken, and an insight on how Congress truly "works." less

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