In Overdoing Democracy, Robert B. Talisse turns the popular adage "the cure for democracy's ills is more democracy" on its head. Indeed, he argues, the widely recognized, crisis-level polarization within contemporary democracy stems from the tendency among citizens to overdo democracy. When we make everything¿even where we shop, the teams we cheer for, and the coffee we drink¿about our politics, we weaken our bonds to one another, and work againstthe fundamental goals of democracy. Talisse advocates civic friendship built around shared endeavors that we must undertake with fellow citizens who do not necessarily share our political affinities as the best way we can obtain a healthier, more sustainable democracy.

• Introduction


• PART I: FRAMING THE THESIS


• Chapter 1. Can Democracy Be Overdone?


• Chapter 2. Democracy's Expanding Reach


• PART II: DIAGNOSIS


• Chapter 3. The Political Saturation of Social Space


• Chapter 4. The Problem of Polarization


• PART III: PRESCRIPTION


• Chapter 5. Civic Friendship


• Chapter 6. The Place of Politics

Robert B. Talisse is W. Alton Jones Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University. His central research area is democratic theory, where he pursues issues concerning legitimacy, justice, and public political argumentation.