Daily Life Lessons With David Stasavage: On The Decline and Rise of Democracy
Author David Stasavage is also Dean for the Social Sciences and Julius Silver Professor of Politics at New York University. In his book, The Decline and Rise of Democracy: A Global History from Antiquity to Today, David shares his ideas of a new understanding of how and why early democracy took hold, how modern democracy evolved, and what this teaches us about the future. Amidst rising democratic anxieties, The Decline and Rise of Democracy widens the historical lens on the growth of political institutions and offers surprising lessons for all who care about governance.
In his Daily Life Lesson, David tells us how we must look to the past to see where our democracy is headed and answers our questions below:
1. Your book is concerned with the deep history of democracy. How wrong are we to think that democracy came from the Greeks?
2. To what extent has democracy been built by great thinkers and what by ordinary people?
3. What do you think the key thing is that we need to realise from the deep history of democracy in order to progress our current democracies?
4. What’s the most valuable life lesson you’ve learnt from your work? How did you come by it and what does it mean to you?
5. If you had one big idea to change the world – to make it a happier, healthier or better place – what would it be?
Download the first chapter of his book here.
