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Danielle Allen has what she calls a “double-barrel” approach to democracy reform. With the first barrel, the Harvard scholar and author wants to fix our systems of governance and elections that are no longer responsive to the concerns of the people. That means changes like increasing the size of the House of Representatives, introducing ranked-choice voting, and establishing 18-year terms for Supreme Court justices.
The second barrel aims for change outside Washington. She believes civics education, bridge-building, and efforts to restore community can mend a civic culture torn apart by technology, dislocation, and polarization.
“We’ve actually got to work on institutions and culture at the same time,” she said in a conversation with Chronicle of Philanthropy senior editor Drew Lindsay. Her message for philanthropy: “Pick a lane.”
“I think philanthropists need to ask, ‘Who am I? Which of those things is right for me?’”
Allen, the director of the Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation at the Harvard Kennedy School, recently spoke with Lindsay in The Commons in Conversation, the Chronicle’s monthly interview series with leaders, advocates, and thinkers who are working to bring Americans together across divides.
Listen to the conversation on Apple, Spotify, or anywhere you get your podcasts. Or watch the discussion on the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s YouTube channel. Below are some highlights, edited for clarity and brevity.
The Good, Bad, and Honest
“Thomas Jefferson said every 20 years you need renewal. And his image was very graphic — he had an idea of a revolution every 20 years. And I think obviously that’s not healthy. But I do think the instinct that democratic societies need to routinely renew themselves is spot on.”
“There’s all kinds of good work around pluralism and supporting people and learning how to build bridges across every possible difference — ideological or racial or religious, etc. So that’s really important work. I think another piece that’s really valuable is in adult civic-learning programs, and even the inclusion of such programs as benefits that employers can offer to employees. I think we’re seeing just the very beginnings of a movement to support people in achieving not just work-life balance but work-life-civic balance.”
“This is a beautiful thing about civic education. There’s a lot of opinion polling that it is a cross-partisan supermajority point of view that we should have more civics education for our kids. Also, astonishingly, it’s a cross-partisan supermajority point of view that we should teach our kids a complete history — the good and the bad — and to be honest. And to support the development of reflective patriotism at the same time.”
“At the end of the day, citizenship, being a civic participant, that’s not something you just know about. The whole purpose of that knowledge is for the doing, for the stepping up, and taking responsibility.”
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