DEMOCRACY CAN WIN

Blending history, political philosophy, and practical strategy, Lex Paulson argues that our current democratic malaise stems from a flawed and limited understanding of what democracy can be.

We accept the version of democracy we were taught—where citizens are sovereign in theory, but power is concentrated in parties and technocrats; where the average person is neither trained nor empowered to solve public problems; where complaining online or marching in the streets marks the boundaries of civic action. We’ve mistaken elite credentialing for true expertise—despite the fact that elite failures fueled the populist backlash. Each one of these is a mistake.

The book will trace a brighter path forward through the often-forgotten lessons of Athenian democracy: a politics grounded in systems thinking, mass civic intelligence, and rewriting the rules of power. This isn’t a nostalgic return to the past, but a bold reimagining of democracy’s untapped potential to meet the present moment.

Both intellectually rich and highly accessible, Democracy Can Win is a call to action that offers hope—and tools—for reclaiming democratic agency in a world grappling with the rise of authoritarianism.