Democracy’s Rebirth is now available from the University of Illinois Press.
An Illinois political scientist and former Chicago alderman tapped into his 50 years of experience for his latest book examining the challenges Americans face in making the U.S. a multiracial and multiethnic democracy.
Author Dick Simpson’s new book, Democracy's Rebirth: The View from Chicago, uses the city of Chicago as an example to highlight how the political, racial, economic, and social inequalities that divide the nation impact cities and neighborhoods.
“The racial segregation and discrimination that still exists in the country is a major impediment to democracy,” said Simpson, also a political science professor at the University of Illinois in Chicago. “Democracy requires that every one of its citizens be treated equally, and have an equal opportunity in the economic realm, and an equal voice in the political realm … We will not be a true democracy until we achieve it.”
A major structural problem in the U.S. is within our electoral system – specifically, the mapping of voting districts.
“We've got all sorts of specific problems that I cover in the book, like gerrymandering, which we just saw here in Illinois,” said Simpson. “That is making it such that we elect only the more extreme members of the political factions to a place like Congress, instead of the ones who are prepared to actually legislate and do the will of the people.”
According to Simpson, the election of more radical politicians has resulted in a less effective government at the federal level.
“The House and the Senate have become so polarized, and the margins in the House and the Senate are so close, so that nothing essentially gets done,” said Simpson. “There are incredibly important pieces of legislation that are stalled.”
However, Simpson sees the increasing civic engagement among young people as an encouraging sign for democracy in the United States. Data from the University of Illinois at Chicago shows voting participation at the university increased by over 10% in each of the past three presidential elections. Illinois State University saw a similar trend, with the student voting rate increasing to 64.8% in the 2020 presidential election, up 14 points from 2016.
“Students are hard at work, working in internships and other programs with community organizations to solve real problems,” says Simpson.
In Democracy's Rebirth, Simpson outlines practical methods that can be used by people everywhere to educate themselves and contribute to shaping institutions that will allow democracy to flourish.
“Our long-term effort has to be to create more participatory democracy at the local level… and at the national level,” says Simpson. “We need a more deliberative democracy where public officials and citizens directly talk to each other and understand their points of view. And the representatives actually represent their constituents.”
