Summary of Republic, Lost

In this first edition of his impassioned analysis, Harvard professor Lawrence Lessig says that America has lost its political way. He says special interests – which donate money to campaigns and then expect favorable treatment – stymie Congress, which can’t pass substantive legislation. Then Lessig offers an intriguing prescription for fixing the money woes that beset Washington: Devote the first $50 of every American’s tax payments to campaign financing. Lessig argues that this would generate billions and blunt the impact of special interests. While always politically neutral, getAbstract recommends Lessig’s ideas to anyone interested in knowing how the US government functions and concerned about counteracting the influence of money in politics.