Placebocracy and Other Ailments
PLACEBOCRACY AND OTHER AILMENTS
A Classical Liberal Take on America Today
by Mark J. Hartwig
hardcover, 320 pages, 6 x 9
ISBN: 978-1-59152-260-7
$24.95
America is in trouble—politically, economically, and socially. But there is still hope for avoiding a course for self-destruction, and Mark J. Hartwig’s provocative and insightful new book offers suggestions for righting the “ship of democracy.”
Hartwig posits that America has become what he coins a placebocracy: “A system of governance whereby a state—likely a devolving democracy—its institutions and codependent private sector entities introduces ineffective mechanisms overtly designed to manage public frustrations in lieu of resolving actual political, economic, and sociocultural problems.”
Hartwig lays a considerable amount of blame at the feet of America’s politicians; excoriating both the Democrats and Republicans—ripping into their failed policies, unwillingness to work together, corruption, cronyism, and elitism. He also has a bone to pick with the news media, and insists media outlets must stop their partisan approach to coverage and go back to old-school journalism so the rest of the nation can consider the facts and conduct fair and reasonable public discourse to resolve the issues it faces. Adding to this malaise, he suggests, is that America’s middle class has decayed to an extent that it has become a “distinct minority,” in large part because it has not been re-defined economically in decades. Hartwig’s underlying proposition is that American democracy is imperiled as a result of institutionalized ignorance on the part of her constituents. He argues it is the sum of these failings which fosters the current atmosphere of political instability.
Hartwig takes an intellectual, fact-based approach to highlighting our biggest problems, warns us what the future could bring, and shines a light on potential solutions. His purpose is to present a perspective not presently embraced by pols or pundits, and to suggest a dialogue within the U.S. that realistically and holistically embraces the issues facing all Americans. “There is an urgency for national debate,” he writes. “It must be an honest discussion, culminating in our resolve to make substantial changes. We’ve heard enough from the fringes. It’s time we take responsible action.”