Why Politics Fails

A leading political expert explains why systems fail to deliver things we all want--democracy, equality, solidarity, security and prosperity--and what can be done to create a just, equitable, and environmentally sane society.

The dawn of the twenty-first century had the promise of a golden age. The economy was stable and growing, social peace seemed possible, and technology appeared benign.
The past years have awakened us from this complacency.

• We have long known what needs to be done to save the world from climate disaster. Why do we continue on the path of self-destruction?
• The immense wealth of the United States should make poverty a historical curiosity. Why is income inequality growing and the scourge of poverty increasing?
• The vast majority of people around the world want to live in a society with democratic values. Why is democracy receding?

Why is it so hard to get - and keep - the world we want?

Ben Ansell, one of the world’s leading experts on the dilemmas facing modern democracies, vividly illustrates how our collective goals - democracy, equality, solidarity, security, and prosperity - are undermined by political traps and why today’s political landscape is so tumultuous. We want equality, but we are loathe to give away our own wealth. We want solidarity but we are much better at receiving it than offering it. We want security but not if it constrains our freedom. And we want to end the climate crisis but we also want a prosperous economy. In every case, we want a collective goal, but are undermined by our individual actions. Our aims are altruistic, our actions governed by self-interest.

Ansell then comes full circle and through brilliant storytelling and pathbreaking research vividly illustrates how we maneuver through the traps of the messy, complicated world of politics that block common sense solutions to the just, equitable, prosperous, and environmentally sane society we all want.

Ben Ansell is Professor of Comparative Democratic Institutions at Nuffield College, University of Oxford. Born in California, he grew up in the UK before returning to the US for his postgraduate studies in political science at UC Berkeley, followed by a PhD at Harvard. He taught for several years at the University of Minnesota, becoming a full Professor at Oxford in 2013 at the age of thirty-five. He was made Fellow of the British Academy in 2018. His work has been widely covered in the media, including The New York Times, The Economist, The Times, BBC Radio, .and the World Bank’s Economic Development Report.