Renovating Democracy: Governing in the Age of Globalization and Digital Capitalism, Gardels Nathan, Berggruen Nicolas

With fierce clarity and conviction, Renovating Democracy tears down our basic structures and challenges us to conceive of an alternative framework for governance. To truly renovate our global systems, the authors argue for empowering participation without populism by integrating social networks and direct democracy into the system with new mediating institutions that complement representative government. They outline steps to reconfigure the social contract to protect workers instead of jobs, shifting from a redistribution after wealth to pre-distribution with the aim to enhance the skills and assets of those less well-off. Lastly, they argue for harnessing globalization through positive nationalism at home while advocating for global cooperation--specifically with a partnership with China--to create a viable rules-based world order.