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The Crisis of American Democracy: The Presidential Elections of 2000 and 2004

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Finally, the fog has been lifted. I can think of no other analysis of American society, above all of the significance of the elections mentioned in the title, that comes close to this book in explaning what's happening in the United States today and internationally. Mr. North, and Mr. Van, too, are so readable, logical and persuasive that we must once again reassess what marxism is all about. The writing is as clear as a brook and sharp as a diamond and cuts to the bone: our system has failed and must be replaced. It is the antithesis of liberal whining and radical posturing and, therefore, quite different, in the good sense, from all the claptrap out there. If you really want to understand where we have been, where we are, and where we are going, this book is a must. It should be required reading in schools and universities. Its socio-political and economic analysis demonstrates that Marxism is very much alive; that it never went away. I recommend this book. Aside from being witty, it is provocative as hell.

The author clearly draws out and explains the significance of both the 2000 and the 2004 elections in the United States. He does not stop at the surface appearance of the attack on democratic rights in the US, but probes into the underlying social relations -- particularly the enormous growth of social inequality -- that is well-documented throughout the text. It is quite an important book, particularly for those of us who might despair at the hope for change in the US! North shows why we are wrong to draw this conclusion. It should also be noted that one of the essays is from 2000. The predictions made then -- that the 2000 election and the decision by the Supreme Court represented an irrevocable break from democratic forms of rule in the United States -- have certainly proven to be quite accurate.

This is what he wrote before the final decision of the Supreme Court in Bush v. Gore: "What the decision of this court will reveal is how far the American ruling class is prepared to go in breaking with traditional bourgeois-democratic and constitutional norms. Is it prepared to sanction ballot fraud and the suppression of votes? Is it prepared to install in the White House a candidate who has attained that office through blatantly illegal and anti-democratic methods? A substantial section of the American ruling elite, and perhaps even a majority of the Supreme Court, is prepared to do just that. This is because, among this social layer, there has been a dramatic erosion of support for traditional forms of democracy." How true! The remainder of the book is an elaboration on this theme, with an analysis of the first four years of the Bush administration and the 2004 elections.

No shortage of ink has been spilled attempting to explain Bush's election victory of 2004, as well as the character and significance of his administration. Unfortunately, most of these efforts explain nothing, and are interesting only to the extent that they reveal something of the helplessness, hopelessness, and confusion of liberal intellectuals. Towering high above this din of panic-in-print is David North's "The Crisis of American Democracy: The Presidential Elections of 2000 and 2004."

This book represents an outstanding achievement for contemporary socialist political analysis, standing in the tradition of Marx's "Eighteenth Brumaire." In a series of essays characterized by lucid prose and biting wit, North cuts through the dense fog of contemporary politics. For those interested in understanding the Bush administration, I can suggest no better starting point.

North's book represents one of the few and possibly the only serious appraisal of a critical period in recent American history. Considering the mounting war deaths, the sharp decline in living standards and seemingly unending corruption investigations, the election period so accurately analyzed in this work will undoubtedly become the focus of intense interest in the years to come.

In the four year period covered in the book, the political reaction against the anti-war movement of the Vietnam war era acended to the heights of political power with essential support from the Democratic Party and most 'left' figures in US politics.

Led by a small group of gangsters, murderers, and conspirators from the upper echelon of the Bush Administration, the entire political/media elite of the US , systematically and whole-heartedly lied and bullied the american people into two bloody, trillion dollar wars, passed a complete attack on democratic rights embodied by the Patriot Act, eventually legalized torture (embodied in the Military Comissions act) and abolished the right to habeas corpus and even a trial for anyone the govt identifies as a terrorist.

Unlike the myriad left-hipsters and Bush bashers, North shows us that this is a systemic breakdown linked to the decline of US economic power and the reckless desperation it has engendered among the ruling elite. Democratic norms have become toally incompatible with the aims and interests of the US government and its ultra rich backers. North points directly to the painful fact that there is no section of the ruling elite-- including democrats and what passes for the 'far left'--that take our most basic rights (privacy, trial, freedom of speech, freedom from torture(!), ect) seriously.

The acceptance of this simple and now obvious fact is the essential first step for the development of any serious movement against war and the attack on our rights and living standards. Every young person should read and think about this book.

Hats off to D North, the shrewest and bravest political writer in the US today!

btw--I read another Amazon review by some embittered kook who seemed intent upon slandering Mr. North, while saying almost nothing about the books content. Don't we get enough of this sensational name-calling on Fox news!?

The US political system is indeed in crisis. A look back at the growth in militarism, spying, renditions, as well as the decaying infrastructure, health care, environment, pollution, food safety, the growth in inequality, concentration of wealth, poverty, homelessness, and countless other measures of the health of society over the past seven years reveals this crisis starkly.

Anyone who supported the Democrats in 2004 out of illusions that they would end the war and turn the economy around should read this book before 2008.

Between the ceremonious media and a most complicit Democratic Party, it's become quite difficult to obtain an objective and insightful depiction of the times in which we live. This book explains many difficult political mechanisms and elucidates what really happened to American democracy and, most importantly, why. Differently from many other liberal or even radical writers, whose subjective perspective leaves the reader utterly demoralized by the depiction of a hopeless reality and a darker future, this book presents a real and genuine alternative to the current political system. Books like this should be taught in schools, colleges and universities, in contraposition to the historic falsifiers who write textbooks these days. PoliSci teachers should seriously consider this book for their courses.

The analysis contained in this book, together with the other material published by the World Socialist Web Site, provides unparalleled insight into the nature and trajectory of American politics. No commentators were better able to place the 2000 and 2004 US elections in historical context, and none could provide a more lucid analysis of the forces corroding American Democracy.

Since the stolen election by George W. Bush in 2000, there has been serious erosion in democratic freedoms within the United States. The attempts to now limit prisoners at Guantanamo from meeting with their attorneys is another indication of the moves by the Bush administration, with the full complicity of the Democratic Party, to deny due process for those who have been held for many, many years. The Crisis of American Democracy provides a clear understanding as to why this is taking place. It is impossible for the American ruling elite to maintain democratic forms of rule under conditions of the growing social polarization. This understanding is not just asserted, but clearly explained in the series of articles the book contains. For this reason, the writing provides a basis for workers to consider political alternatives.

There is an enormous charade going on in Washington. The 2006 election results have made it clear that the majority of the American people oppose the war in Iraq. The undeniable force of this truth has compelled the media to finally acknowledge it openly, and Democratic Party politicians to conduct an elaborate theatrical performance of opposition. This impotent display has no effect on the policy of the US as determined by the right-wing maniacs in the White House, who are still preparing unilateral military interventions in Iran and elsewhere.

This book provides important background to the current political situation. It answers the question "How could this circle of madmen around the simpleton Bush manage to wield so much apparent power?" As opposed to the various conspiracy theories that obscure the underlying dynamic, "The Crisis of American Democracy" analyses the connection between the economic polarisation of society and the political disenfranchisement of the American masses. The recent deepening trend of huge multi-million dollar bonuses for corporate officials while the average American is facing economic uncertainty on every front, is part and parcel of the tendency of the migration of social wealth from the poor to the super-rich. North asks the question: "Under these circumstances, how could democracy thrive, much less survive intact?"

North provides a detailed examination of the 2000 and 2004 US elections and conclusions which challenge the conventional explanations provided by the media. If you are interested in real answers to these political questions, this book is must reading.