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DEMOCRACY by James Laxer

DEMOCRACY

A Groundwork Guide

by James Laxer

Pub Date: May 1st, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-88899-912-2
Publisher: Groundwood

The latest volume in the Groundwork Guides series offers a fascinating and concise overview of democracy from ancient Greece and Rome through the American and French Revolutions and on through modern movements for democracy in the developing world. Laxer’s premise is that “democracy is in peril today in the wealthy countries” because it’s morphing into plutocracy, a system in which politics is unduly controlled by money. The future of democracy depends, as it always has, on the struggle to narrow the gap between the rich and poor and the struggles for education, health care, employment, a cleaner environment and containment of war. Though the prose is windy and wordy at times, it covers much ground and is always rooted in specific details and examples, with sidebars that add extra dimensions to the discussion. This will work best with a high-school audience already well versed in American and world history and ready for a treatment that makes compelling connections. (timeline, source notes, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 14 & up)