SXSW 2023
Imagineering American Democracy 2050
Description:
Forget the 2022 elections or even 2024. How can we rethink American democracy to create a 21st century version that works well for the populous, diverse, multiracial country that we have become? The United States today is a gigantic country (only China and India have more people) and a highly heterogenous one at that. Unfortunately, our existing systems of electing those who represent us increasingly don't seem to do a very good job of producing people who actually represent us or our interests. Are there alternatives such as proportional representation or multi-member districts or top 4 primaries (or others) that would do better? And how do we get there when faced with an uninterested and often hostile political class, not to mention openly antagonistic courts?
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Takeaways
- The problems currently faced by American democracy go well beyond the divided politics of our time & have roots in the design of the systems we use.
- The United States is hard to govern - by design. But we are reaching a breaking point as the country becomes more diverse - in multiple ways.
- Now is the time for fresh, bold thinking. We can't just tweak existing systems. People outside the usual political class have a huge role to play.
Speakers
- Michael Li, Senior Counsel, Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law
- Moon Duchin, Professor, Tufts University
- Lee Drutman, Senior Fellow, New America
- Todd Henricks, Data & Research Analyst, NAACP Legal Defense & Education Fund
Organizer
Michael Li, Senior Counsel, Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law
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