How to ensure the US remains a democratic country | Mike Berkowitz (2021)
Originally released April 2021. Mike Berkowitz, executive director of the Democracy Funders Network, points out a problem we came to realize throughout the Trump presidency: So many of the things that we thought were laws were actually just customs.
So once you have leaders who don’t buy into those customs — like, say, that a president shouldn’t tell the Department of Justice who it should and shouldn’t be prosecuting — there’s nothing preventing said customs from being violated.
In this interview, Mike covers what he thinks are the three most important levers to push on to preserve liberal democracy in the United States:
1. Reforming the political system, for example by introducing new voting methods
2. Revitalising local journalism
3. Reducing partisan hatred within the United States
Mike says that American democracy, like democracy elsewhere in the world, is not an inevitability. The US has institutions that are really important for the functioning of democracy, but they don’t automatically protect themselves — they need people to stand up and protect them.
Mike also thinks that we need to harden more norms into laws, such that individuals have fewer opportunities to undermine the system.
As Founding Father James Madison put it: “If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.”
Learn more and see the full transcript on the 80,000 Hours website: https://80000hours.org/podcast/episod...
Chapters:
• Rob’s intro (00:00:00)
• The interview begins (00:02:01)
• What we should actually be worried about (00:05:03)
• January 6th, 2021 (00:11:03)
• Trump’s defeat (00:16:44)
• Improving incentives for representatives (00:30:55)
• Signs of a loss of confidence in American democratic institutions (00:44:58)
• Most valuable political reforms (00:54:39)
• Revitalising local journalism (01:08:07)
• Reducing partisan hatred (01:21:53)
• Should workplaces be political? (01:31:40)
• Mistakes of the left (01:36:50)
• Risk of overestimating the problem (01:39:56)
• Charitable giving (01:48:13)
• How to shortlist projects (01:56:42)
• Speaking to Republicans (02:04:15)
• Patriots & Pragmatists and The Democracy Funders Network (02:12:51)
• Rob’s outro (02:32:58)
----
The 80,000 Hours Podcast features unusually in-depth conversations about the world’s most pressing problems and what you can do to solve them.
Watch video How to ensure the US remains a democratic country | Mike Berkowitz (2021) online without registration, duration hours minute second in high quality. This video was added by user 80,000 Hours 27 October 2024, don't forget to share it with your friends and acquaintances, it has been viewed on our site 379 once and liked it 11 people.