David A. Moss

Harvard Book Store welcomes Harvard Business School's DAVID A. MOSS, founder of The Tobin Project, for a discussion of his book, Democracy: A Case Study.

About Democracy

To all who declare that American democracy is broken—riven by partisanship, undermined by extremism, and corrupted by wealth—history offers hope. In nearly every generation since the nation’s founding, critics have made similar declarations, and yet the nation is still standing. When should we believe the doomsayers? In Democracy: A Case Study, historian David Moss adapts the case study method made famous by Harvard Business School to revitalize our conversations about governance and democracy and show how the United States has often thrived on political conflict.

Democracy’s nineteen case studies were honed in Moss’s Harvard course, which is among the institution’s most highly rated. Each one presents readers with a pivotal moment in U.S. history and raises questions facing key decision makers at the time: Should delegates to the Constitutional Convention support James Madison’s proposal for a congressional veto over state laws? Should President Lincoln resupply Fort Sumter? Should Florida lawmakers approve or reject the Equal Rights Amendment?

These vibrant cases ask readers to weigh choices and consequences, wrestle with momentous decisions, and come to their own conclusions. They provoke us to rethink which factors make the difference between constructive and destructive conflict, and they provide an opportunity to reengage the passionate debates that are crucial to a healthy society. Democracy: A Case Study invites us all to experience American history anew and come away with a deeper understanding of our democracy’s greatest strengths and vulnerabilities as well as its extraordinary resilience over time.

Praise

"Brilliantly adapting the provocative format of the Harvard Business School's case study method, Democracy: A Case Study challenges readers to think anew on topics ranging from James Madison's quest for a workable federalism to such modern flashpoints as the power of the Federal Reserve and the Citizens United decision. Each episode is crisp and compelling, entertaining and inspiring. The effect is nothing less than to open the gates of our most elite university to the reading public." —Roger Lowenstein, author of America's Bank and Buffett 

"Democracy: A Case Study gives us the facts of key controversies in our history—from the adoption of the Constitution to Citizens United—and invites readers to decide for themselves. This novel approach makes American history a valuable resource for civic education." —Michael J. Sandel, author of What Money Can't Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets