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![Is Democracy in Crisis?](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/d40c5e23-569a-46d4-bae3-643d5944e0ae/AdobeStock_64908172.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1071%2C0%2C3744%2C3744&w=290)
Which countries are doing the most harm to democracy? And why is the United States struggling to maintain a healthy democratic system?
![14546211024 D151aba596 H](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/6893019f-4f21-4223-b59a-f724408e405a/14546211024_d151aba596_h.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&mono=4b7780&q=80&rect=535%2C0%2C1065%2C1065&w=400)
![14546211024 D151aba596 H](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/6893019f-4f21-4223-b59a-f724408e405a/14546211024_d151aba596_h.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&q=80&rect=535%2C0%2C1065%2C1065&w=400)
How can Americans restore their confidence in their government?
![Philanthropy, Democracy, and You](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/nulled6a155f-a9f5-4cf8-929f-0a7270a4d62c/48152033811_a01f216672_h.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=266%2C0%2C1067%2C1067&w=290)
Worried about the health of our democracy? There’s a bright light. Nation-wide the social sector is expanding to include NGOs led by a new generation, entrepreneurs building companies that offer a social return, networks of change-makers who share a profession or passion, and philanthropies taking many new forms. Together they’re tackling hard problems at the community and...
![28246190487 471ec3e1ce H](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/218d2354-7eda-4b45-b3d0-2730f488a3eb/28246190487_471ec3e1ce_h.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&mono=0a80bc&q=80&rect=268%2C0%2C1279%2C1280&w=400)
![28246190487 471ec3e1ce H](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/218d2354-7eda-4b45-b3d0-2730f488a3eb/28246190487_471ec3e1ce_h.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&q=80&rect=268%2C0%2C1279%2C1280&w=400)
What can fix a democracy in crisis?
![Democratizing Wealth](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/df908c4c-926c-4bce-afe4-c0b937040cbf/53003838462_f43dc087e7_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=0%2C0%2C5504%2C5504&w=290)
Allowing everyone a fair chance at economic prosperity and upward mobility is a goal we can all support. But, how? Leaders of investment disruptor Robinhood, the MacArthur Foundation, and Prudential join to discuss the systems, practices, and policies to provide greater access to capital markets.
![42977780232 0aa2582b91 H](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/127d9102-2a2c-4e6e-83eb-458f88171fcb/42977780232_0aa2582b91_h.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&mono=4b7780&q=80&rect=0%2C0%2C1067%2C1067&w=400)
![42977780232 0aa2582b91 H](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/127d9102-2a2c-4e6e-83eb-458f88171fcb/42977780232_0aa2582b91_h.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&q=80&rect=0%2C0%2C1067%2C1067&w=400)
Ahead of the midterms, what are we hearing about the candidates, the campaigns, and the issues?
![Edge of Chaos: Why Democracy Is Failing to Deliver Economic Growth](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/15a06ceb-ed99-4e6b-b4d9-02601d93d281/28246190487_0d92070332_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=688%2C0%2C5504%2C5504&w=290)
Around the world, people who are angry at stagnant wages and growing inequality have rebelled against established governments and turned to political extremes. Liberal democracy, history's greatest engine of growth, now struggles to overcome unprecedented economic headwinds — from aging populations to scarce resources to unsustainable debt burdens. Democracies risk falling...
![The Changing Nature of Work and Our Troubled Democracy: Two Sides of the Same Coin?](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/350f86d3-604b-48a3-a952-1b386a2e45df/52181801826_7abaa038f3_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1376%2C0%2C5504%2C5504&w=290)
American jobs and American democracy are both in crisis. Working people show up in political discourse in discussions of “the white working class” or “essential workers,” but our politics does little to improve their lot. Why has policymaking become divorced from the interests of working people, and what does this mean for our democracy? How does the nature of work influen...
![Reimagining the Future of the Democratic Party](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/c749263e-66df-409a-b2d7-1cf2f363383e/52177732784_1c983e80ab_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=791%2C0%2C3467%2C3467&w=290)
“Follow the science” has become a Democratic mantra, but many Americans are wary of experts and believe elites look down on them. Have Democrats become too identified with technocratic ways of speaking — about the economy, the pandemic, climate change? Has this deepened the political divide between those with and those without college degrees? Can Democrats reconnect with...
![35693473595 03ea6111fe H](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/e39b9ce7-4d98-40ec-8b83-5e4dfafce872/35693473595_03ea6111fe_h.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&mono=7d247d&q=80&rect=534%2C0%2C1066%2C1066&w=400)
![35693473595 03ea6111fe H](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/e39b9ce7-4d98-40ec-8b83-5e4dfafce872/35693473595_03ea6111fe_h.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&q=80&rect=534%2C0%2C1066%2C1066&w=400)
Senator Cory Booker on the problems Democrats, and all Americans, need to confront.
![19246306623 C769356c37 H](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/dcc73354-3cad-4689-b5ba-2d965c6525c5/19246306623_c769356c37_h.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&mono=7d247d&q=80&rect=534%2C0%2C1066%2C1066&w=400)
![19246306623 C769356c37 H](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/dcc73354-3cad-4689-b5ba-2d965c6525c5/19246306623_c769356c37_h.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&q=80&rect=534%2C0%2C1066%2C1066&w=400)
What might we learn from the past about the current state of politics and democracy in America?
![14380455757 3dd118e06c H](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/8b581ad0-c86b-40a2-af87-48bf96221ba3/14380455757_3dd118e06c_h.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&mono=8a5f4e&q=80&rect=580%2C47%2C1020%2C1020&w=400)
![14380455757 3dd118e06c H](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/8b581ad0-c86b-40a2-af87-48bf96221ba3/14380455757_3dd118e06c_h.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&q=80&rect=580%2C47%2C1020%2C1020&w=400)
What were the ideals of the framers, and what can they teach us about modern American democracy?
![Pushback: The Perils (and Power) of Corporate Commitments](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/4740a973-6c0d-4f57-9c35-796fdd369fa2/53823862693_2b19d6cc7e_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=0%2C238%2C3101%2C3104&w=290)
With ESG caught in the political culture wars, business executives must decide to speak up or stay quiet about climate, diversity and democracy. What do employees and citizens expect, and can playing offense be the best defense against the pushback?
![A Giant Conundrum: Making Sense of China](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/17b4a2e0-50b5-40ae-8cbe-8892444310e7/AdobeStock_89816934.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=578%2C0%2C2195%2C2195&w=290)
The most populous country in the world has economic might, military muscle, and a governing philosophy at odds with democracy. While the rest of the world watches China’s sphere of influence grow, can we count on them to be partners in tackling global problems?
![Irenebueno](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/null8303579a-6dda-4dbc-955e-c0decf0bf2c2/irenebueno.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&mono=ab287a&q=80&rect=290%2C0%2C720%2C720&w=400)
![Irenebueno](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/null8303579a-6dda-4dbc-955e-c0decf0bf2c2/irenebueno.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&q=80&rect=290%2C0%2C720%2C720&w=400)
What are the ways in which people are viewing voting through the lens of race?
![28225080767 E6fc83748a H](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/409beefe-3b1e-4ca1-8075-52351e591765/28225080767_e6fc83748a_h.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&mono=b78045&q=80&rect=179%2C0%2C1067%2C1067&w=400)
![28225080767 E6fc83748a H](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/409beefe-3b1e-4ca1-8075-52351e591765/28225080767_e6fc83748a_h.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&q=80&rect=179%2C0%2C1067%2C1067&w=400)
Kleptocracy presents a growing threat to US national security and international peace, as money laundering and other forms of public “grand corruption” increasingly undermine democracy, cripple development, weaken Western soft power, and accelerate state collapse.
![adobe stock money](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/3a4a6e21-1535-4fae-957d-b720d7757eb0/AdobeStock_52654664.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&mono=ab287a&q=80&rect=1322%2C0%2C3840%2C3840&w=400)
![adobe stock money](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/3a4a6e21-1535-4fae-957d-b720d7757eb0/AdobeStock_52654664.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&q=80&rect=1322%2C0%2C3840%2C3840&w=400)
When President Biden expanded the nation's Child Tax Credit in March, US Senator Michael Bennet applauded the move. Bennet, a democrat from Colorado, has been working to increase support for families since he introduced the American Family Act in Congress in 2017. Now he wants to make the Credit, which pays most American families $250 or $300/child each month, permanent. H...
![Coding Is the New Civics: Leadership Lessons from a Top Social Entrepreneur](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/6bc702fa-0c78-41a2-8726-92fe34c8f41a/43009089351_166b9faf39_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=534%2C0%2C1931%2C1931&w=290)
How will government survive without the skill of tech superstars among its ranks? Jen Pahlka’s Code for America was launched with the mission to use the principles and practices of the digital age to rebuild the institutions we rely on for our democracy. Kathleen Janus, whose recent book took her around the country meeting top social entrepreneurs, guides this conversation...
![42378404394 Cff3c19f41 H](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/ed2e05ea-1733-4379-b1cb-e22e684fcddf/42378404394_cff3c19f41_h.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&mono=7d247d&q=80&rect=531%2C0%2C1067%2C1067&w=400)
![42378404394 Cff3c19f41 H](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/ed2e05ea-1733-4379-b1cb-e22e684fcddf/42378404394_cff3c19f41_h.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&q=80&rect=531%2C0%2C1067%2C1067&w=400)
Rebecca Blumenstein on gender, journalism, and protecting democracy through news.
While the United States has the world’s deepest and most liquid capital markets, and the largest number of billionaires in the world, we also have historic levels of wealth inequality and racial disparity. The very real risk: These disparities might not only undermine our economy but our democracy. What will it take to narrow the gap and build wealth equity in America? Wha...