Social Media Versus American Democracy
Setup
The Founders created a representative republic rather than a direct democracy, designed to slow down deliberation so that majorities could rule based on reason rather than passion. But in the age of Facebook and Twitter, new social media technologies have unleashed populist passions and accelerated public discourse to warp speed, creating the very mobs, demagogues, echo chambers, and factions that Madison and Hamilton feared. Is the American idea in crisis, and if so, what can we do about it?
- 2018 Festival
- USA
- Technology
Explore More
USA





As the nation reels from the attack on the Capitol, we look for ideas that will move us forward.

Peggy Clark asks Dan Glickman to reflect on this past year and to share what he expects from our country under President-elect Joe Biden’s leadership.



“We are not in a rush to pull people back into the workplace,” says Rob Falzon







NPR's Tamara Keith and Dan Glickman discuss what a Biden agenda might look like.

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka’s family has called the city home for over 100 years.




Poet Claudia Rankine discusses the urgency of reimagining what it means to be American with Eric Liu.



Not by shying away from arguments but by embracing them. Arguments are our legacy and our shared history.



Two pro athletes talk about the perils of speaking up for justice in 2020, and what it would take to see progress and create measurable societal change.

The highest court often seems distanced from our day-to-day lives, but the rulings that come out of the Supreme Court are woven into the fabric of the nation. Though it aims t...