How did the world’s oldest democracy lose its mojo? How did we get to a point where we face existential crises like climate change yet leaders can’t agree that there’s a problem let alone develop solutions? Political leaders bear some of the responsibility. Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin and Donald Trump, to name a few, have shattered political norms and transformed our politics into a free-for-all in which personal attacks, appeals to bigotry and fear, disregard for truth, and disdain for governing have become the norm. But they are more a symptom than the cause. The Path to Paralysis examines changes in political culture during the past 60 years – conflict over race, religion and gender; wrenching economic changes and growing concentration of wealth; the end of the Cold War; hardening regional divisions; and dramatic changes in communications – that made Donald Trump possible, if not inevitable. Long in the making, these cross-currents came together in the early 21st century – as the United States experienced the deepest recession since the 1930s and elected its first Black president – to create the perfect storm. The result was toxic and deeply polarised politics that threatened the existence of constitutional government.
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