'Sparkling . . . a page-turner full of wit original insight and unassuming erudition'
Guardian'Enjoyable vitality' The Times'Highly stimulating . . . wonderfully readable . . . her
analysis of democracy's key strengths and weaknesses is forensic' Literary Review Democracy is
a living breathing thing and Erica Benner has spent a lifetime thinking about the role
ordinary citizens play in keeping it alive: from her childhood in post-war Japan where
democracy was imposed on a defeated country to working in post-communist Poland with its
sudden gaps of wealth and security. This book draws on her experiences and the deep history of
self-ruling peoples - going back to ancient Greece the French revolution and Renaissance
Florence - to rethink some of the toughest questions that we face today. What do democratic
ideals of equality mean in a world obsessed with competition wealth and greatness? How can we
hold the powerful to account? Can we find enough common ground to keep sharing democratic power
in the future? Challenging well-worn myths of heroic triumph over tyranny Benner reveals the
inescapable vulnerabilities of people power inviting us to consider why democracy is worth
fighting for and the role each of us must play.
