Democracy Journal

1 week ago | democracyjournal.org | Nicole Hemmer

In 1971, a few weeks after The New York Times wrapped its explosive series on the Pentagon Papers, the conservative magazine National Review ran a scoop of its own: another set of secret papers, this time showing that victory had been possible in Vietnam if only the U.S. government and military had taken a more aggressive approach.

Mar 28, 2025 | democracyjournal.org | Henry Farrell

When Elon Musk brought the U.S. government to the brink of shutdown over a spending bill in December, he boasted of a victory for democracy. As Musk described the outcome on X, which he owns: “Your elected representatives have heard you and now the terrible bill is dead. The voice of the people has triumphed. VOX POPULI / VOX DEI.”The voice was not divine, but rather Musk’s own, amplified by a social media platform that he has partly reconstructed around his own prejudices and predilections.

Mar 21, 2025 | democracyjournal.org | Adele Stan

In 1964, when I was seven years old, my family took a day trip to the New Jersey State Fair. Displayed were the wonders produced by the agricultural lands in southern and western parts of the state. None stay much in my memory. What does stick with me is the booth for the Republican presidential candidate, where one could purchase a bottle filled with a clear liquid that was the color of marigolds. Gold water, see? If I recall correctly, the booth wasn’t getting a lot of action.

Mar 20, 2025 | democracyjournal.org | David J. Goldstein

The middle-out project cannot hope to rebuild the American middle class without addressing America’s housing crisis, and it cannot address the housing crisis without building millions of affordable new homes. There are of course other prerequisites for enjoying a happy and secure middle-class life—a good education, a stable income, and high-quality health care, child care, and elder care, to name a few.

Mar 14, 2025 | democracyjournal.org | Mike Konczal

The Empire State Building, then the world’s tallest building at 102 stories, was completed in 1931. Building that majestic structure, later called one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Civil Engineers, took just one year and 45 days. Contrast that with just about anything we try to build now. And it’s not just speed. In the 1970s, 1.7 million new homes were constructed each year.