Summary Of The Disease Of American Democracy By Robert Reich

For every year that passes, it seems as though more and more people are beginning to lose their faith in the US government. Many have grown tired of being ignored by their representatives, while others are disgusted by the greed and corruption that appears to control every movement congress makes. In the blog, "The Disease of American Democracy," published in the Huffington Post, the author, Robert Reich, explores this very idea; however, instead of merely agreeing with the majority of the American public, Reich uses his blog to motivate Americans to once again become politically active, so as to restore the democracy that there once was in the US. Just like any other author, Reich certainly took his audience into much consideration. Reich

At first, Reich evokes a feeling of hopelessness and disappointment in the reader by explaining how there is no longer democracy in the US. This can be seen when Reich states that, "political parties stopped representing the views of most constituents," (Reich, 2) and that, "we entered a vicious cycle in which political power became more concentrated in monied interests that used the power to their advantage," (Reich, 2). By including this, Reich is showing the reader the true severity of the situation in which the people no longer have a say in public policy because money and power has become the main focus. However, as the blog continues, Reich begins to generate a more positive emotion in the reader. Reich states that "the only way back towards democracy...for the majority is for us to get politically active once again...," (Reich, 3) and that "the rest of us need to do what we can do best -- use out voices, our vigor, and our votes." By including these phrases, Reich now evokes a feeling of hope in the reader that democracy can be restored once again; thus, supporting his claim that it is through becoming politically active that this can all be

In order to fully support his claim that in order to restore democracy, the American public must once again unite and become politically active, Reich uses cause and effect analysis throughout much of his blog. After describing how wonderful things were when much of the American public was united and involved politically, whether it be through organizations or unions, Reich begins to explain how and why things began to go wrong. Reich states that because many people began to spend more time working, many organizations began to lose members; thus, resulting in less power for the people and more power for the corporations. Because corporations now had more power, Reich states that that's when the greed and corruption began to take place, which ultimately led to ignoring the needs of the American people and focusing more on the money.The use of cause and effect is quite effective in this case because it not only allows the reader to see how the U.S. got to where it is now, but it also reveals how to get back to when democracy actually meant something. Ultimately, by showing where we went wrong as a nation, Reich is merely reinforcing his claim that in order to restore democracy, the nation must become politically active once