By contrast, voice-based activism has as its primary goal the raising of other voices, rather than achieving an instrumental goal.

They see problems that can be best addressed not through politics as usual, but through organizing, direct action, and even humor.

Rosanvallon offers three paths toward legitimacy, both for democratic and for counter-democratic institutions. First, an institution is legitimate if it enjoys majority support. This reads as an extension of electoral democracy: if the majority of people voted for a candidate, she should hold office; if a similar majority believe in a free and inde

“crisis on our hands when it comes to civics education.”5 For O’Connor, the failure of high school students to understand the American system of checks and balances clearly indicates that we are failing to prepare young people to participate in civic life. The wide gap in voter turnout between people under thirty and those above—generally around 20

Mistrust encourages us to influence those we see as movable, not necessarily those most responsible for a problem.

United States and Britain, the countries most associated with neoliberalism: they had lost the ability to imagine solving problems by investing in public goods.

Efficacy is always a problem of perception. People will undertake actions, even deeply demanding actions, if they are persuaded their participation can make a difference. The challenge for organizers of social movements is to create a range of actions, from thin to thick, that let participants feel they’re making effective change.

Democracy thrives in a sweet spot between too much trust and too little.

But “people don’t experience life in an issue-specific way,”