The book examines the problems that plague contemporary American democracy. Written from the standpoint of democratic theory, and from a progressive point of view, the book explores different facets of American democratic culture and its various deficits - deficits that can lead to the crippling of democratic politics.

Philip Green was Sophia Smith Professor of Government at Smith College and Visiting Professor of Graduate Political Science at The New School. Green serves on the editorial board for The Nation magazine. His scholarly publications include Deadly Logic: The Theory of Nuclear Deterrence, The Pursuit of Inequality, Retrieving Democracy, Democracy and Equality, Cracks in the Pedestal, and Primetime Politics.

PART I: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY: THEORY, PRACTICE AND CRITIQUE 1. Introduction: I Have a Philosophy, You Have an Ideology 2. Science, Government, and the Case of Rand: A Singular Pluralism 3. In Defense of the State 4. Equality Since Rawls: Objective Philosophers, Subjective Citizens, and Rational Choice 5. A Few Kind Words for Liberalism PART II: 'REALLY EXISTING DEMOCRACY' 6. Rethinking Democratic Theory: the American Case (with Drucilla Cornell) 7. Immigration: Myths and Principles 8. On-Screen Barbarism: Violence in U.S. Visual Culture 9. Farewell to Democracy? PART III: 'IT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA' 10. Prologomena to a Democratic Theory of the Division of Labor 11. Postscript: Democracy a s a Contested Idea