Heather McGhee made her career in pushing for economic policy changes at the think tank Demos. But she couldn't help but feel that something was missing from her work. So she embarked on a cross-country road trip to understand what's at the heart of what ails America's economy and our democracy. The result is her book The Sum of Us, which she joins us to talk about in this episode.
In the book, McGhee explores what we lose when we buy into the zero-sum paradigm—the idea that progress for some of us must come at the expense of others. She details how public goods in this country—from parks and pools to functioning schools—have become private luxuries; of how unions collapsed, wages stagnated, and inequality increased; and of how this country, unique among the world’s advanced economies, has thwarted universal healthcare.
Finally, she offers examples of how this paradigm is changing in communities across the country when people work across differences to achieve a shared goal.
At the beginning of the episode, we reference our conversation with Rhiana Gunn-Wright, one of the architects of the Green New Deal.
A brief history of “people power”
The power of local government
Using the tools of democracy to address economic inequality
What is democracy? A conversation with Astra Taylor
Trump on Earth: The Red State Paradox
It’s good to be counted [rebroadcast]
When states sue the federal government [rebroadcast]
Citizenship, patriotism, and democracy in the classroom [rebroadcast]
2018: The year in democracy
The complicated relationship between campaign finance and democracy
Capturing the nation’s mood
Are land-grant universities still “democracy’s colleges?”
Norman Eisen’s love letter to democracy
Winning the “democracy lottery”
From soldier-statesman to the warrior ethos: Gen. Wesley Clark on the military and democracy
Protecting democracy from foreign interference — recorded live at the National Press Club
Will Millennials disrupt democracy?
David Frum on developing the habits of democracy
When states sue the federal government
How “if it bleeds, it leads” impacts democracy
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