Fight for Liberty: Defending Democracy in the Age of Trump

by Mark Lasswell (Editor), Jon Meacham (Introduction)

Overview

Anne Applebaum, Garry Kasparov, Richard North Patterson, and a constellation of other thinkers make the urgent case for liberal democracy — reinvigorating its central values in an age of doubt and discord.

Liberal democracy is in crisis around the world, besieged by authoritarianism, nationalism, and other illiberal forces. Far-right parties are gaining traction in Europe, Vladimir Putin tightens his grip on Russia and undermines democracy abroad, and America struggles with poisonous threats from the right and left.

But the defenders of democracy are strong too. Taking their cues from the 1788 Federalist Papers, the Renew Democracy Initiative is a collective of pro-democracy advocates from across the political spectrum, including Anne Applebaum, Garry Kasparov, Max Boot, Bret Stephens, Ted Koppel, and Natan Sharansky. This book is their foundational document, a collection of essays that analyze the multi-pronged threats to liberal democracy in the U.S. and abroad, and offer solutions based on fundamental democratic principles such as freedom of speech, a free press, and the rule of law.

Fight for Liberty is a roadmap for the struggle against the rising tide of extremism and a cri de coeur in defense of the liberal world order, which sees itself threatened as never before today.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781541724167
Publisher:	PublicAffairs
Publication date:	10/16/2018
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 7.70(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

The Renew Democracy Initiative is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the defense of democratic freedom and prosperity. Championing the values on which the free world was built, RDI seeks to unite the center-left and center-right by making the case for liberty, democracy and sanity in an age of discord. RDI aims to generate fresh thinking by convening the best minds from different countries in the service of liberty and democracy in the West and around the world.

Mark Lasswell, a Renew Democracy Initiative board member, is an op-ed editor at the Washington Post and the former editorial features editor, overseeing op-eds, at the Wall Street Journal.

Table of Contents

Preface, Renew Democracy Initiative ix

Introduction Jon Meacham 1

Part 1 First Principles 7

The Need for Truth Roger Scruton 9

Values Without Borders Elizabeth Cobbs 17

Civics and Civility Michael Signer 27

In Praise of Globalization Jagdish Bhagwati 34

The Centrality of Dissent Natan Sharansky Rachel Friedman 39

At the Heart of Freedom: Economic Liberty Deirdre Nansen McCloskey 51

Part 2 Threats 59

The Anti-Democratic Contagion Garry Kasparov 61

The Rise of Statist Great Power: China Minxin Pei 71

Putin and His Orchestrated Chaos Machine Anne Applebaum 81

Political Tribalism John Avlon 90

The Digital Assault on Democracy Massimo Calabresi 101

The Islamist Extremism Challenge for Liberal Democracies Joseph Lieberman Vance Serchuk 113

Failed States, Metastasizing Robert D. Kaplan 124

Apocalypse in a Nuclear Warhead William J. Perry 131

The Anti-Press Crusade Goes Global Mark Lasswell 139

The Weakness in Democracy's Strength: Complacency Karl-Theodor Zu Guttenberg 147

Illiberals of the World, Unite! James Kirchick 155

Part 3 Solutions 167

What the World Needs Now: US Leadership Max Boot 169

In Defense of Free Trade Richard Hurowitz 180

Immigration for the Twenty-First Century Linda Chavez 189

The Courts as Bulwarks Against Tyranny Michael C. Dorf 201

Reform for Islam Maajid Nawaz 212

The Free Market Remains Essential Tyler Cowen 221

Facts and the Free Press Ted Koppel 229

World Order and the American Constitutional Order Philip Bobbitt 239

Revitalizing the Freedom of Religion Jonathan Sacks 247

International Linchpins of Stability José María Aznar 256

The University's Covenant with Liberal Democracy Ronald Daniels 263

Robust Speech, Robust Democracy Nancy Gertner 272

All the Difference in the World: The Qualities of Leadership Richard North Patterson 282

Interests Versus Values Bret Stephens 291

Renew Democracy Manifesto 301

Editorial Reviews

"The voices are familiar but fresh. And the topics they explore are handled with a deftness and texture richer than one might expect from a cohesive battle cry....There is a subtle (or not so subtle) prophecy that underlies these essays - the prophecy that such a turn of events is not only possible but probable if liberty is not defended now. Is this truly the fate of things to come? If we don't stand up and 'fight for liberty,' the text suggests, our greatest fears may be realized. The good news is these authors, and many of their devotees, will not go quietly into that good night."—Martha's Vineyard Times

"Fight for Liberty should be required reading for every college student-indeed, for every American and, regardless of their nationality, every person capable of reading and understanding the 1776 Declaration of Independence and the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. To comprehend the threats confronting our world and consider what to do about them, reading and re-reading this book's essays will be worthwhile."—Walter Clemens, New York Journal of Books

"The strongest point of this useful collection is the depth and breadth of its opposition to our current illiberal atmosphere...A valuable addition to the literature of democratic resistance."—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

2018-07-30

Essays by contributors allied with the Renew Democracy Initiative on the necessity of defending democratic institutions in an anti-democratic era.

The strongest point of this useful collection is the depth and breadth of its opposition to our current illiberal atmosphere. Conservative historian Max Boot, libertarian-inclined economist Tyler Cowen, and liberal author Richard North Patterson are among those who set aside their differences and join forces against the "resurgence of political authoritarianism and extremism" following the 2016 election. As many contributors note, Donald Trump is a symptom and not a direct cause for the breakdown of democratic institutions; he did not create the sharp divisions in society, but he certainly exploits them to his own advantage. Conversely, writes the RDI's board—chaired by chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov, no stranger to dissidence—by way of an introduction to a work that its members characterize as a modern Federalist Papers, the initiative aims to work around division to emphasize "how much we have in common: a belief in the fundamental ideas that for generations have made so much of the world free, prosperous, and safe." The return to first principles and catholicity of the approach are admirable, and if some of the pieces are rather aridly academic, others have a populist urgency to them. For example, journalist and historian Anne Applebaum dissects the reasons behind Vladimir Putin's embrace of authoritarians in the West—namely, to discredit democracy itself and the ideals that inform it, for which he "needs to undermine the institutions that promote them, to create chaos and discord in the democratic processes of the West and above all in Western institutions." (One such institution, she adds, is the European Union, which Trump has so regularly reviled.) Perhaps the best piece in the collection is by journalist John Avlon, who observes with considerable understatement that "America is living through a stark departure from its best political traditions." Other contributors include Ted Koppel, Bret Stephens, and Nancy Gertner.

A valuable addition to the literature of democratic resistance.

Kirkus Reviews