Lawrence Jacobs on Democracy Under Fire

Leonard Lopate at Large on WBAI Radio in New York

(4-11-2022) In Democracy under Fire, Lawrence Jacobs provides a history of political reforms since the late-eighteenth century that over time weakened democracy, widened political inequality as well as racial disparities, and rewarded toxic political polarization. Much of the attention paid to Trump's rise to power has focused on his corrosive personality and divisive style of governing. Jacobs will examine the ascendance of Trump which is the culmination of nearly 250 years of political reforms that gradually ceded party nominations to small cliques of ideologically motivated party activists, interest groups, and donors, on this installment of Leonard Lopate at Large.