Something has gone wrong in American democracy. Though our diagnoses differ, the entire political spectrum chafes at the widespread dysfunction. Our traditional modes for understanding democratic decline'tyranny of the majority, corruption, erosion of trust, polarization'all of these shed some light onto our current circumstances, but they fail to explain how policies with broad public support don't materialize. While reporting on the democratic terrain in state and local government, I've become preoccupied with how easily minority interests are able to hijack broadly beneficial policy goals'often through mechanisms we view as democratically legitimate. Tools developed to push against a potential 'tyranny of the majority' have allowed majorities to be subjugated to the will of minority interests time and again. Whether it's by professional associations, police unions, homeowner associations, or wealthy individuals, majority rule has repeatedly been hijacked. Steve Teles, a political...
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