Nothing earth-shattering, but Yang offers thoughtful, sensible proposals for a better democracy.
A plan to make America work better, from the former presidential and New York City mayoral candidate.
Like many observers, Yang sees the U.S. beset by economic and political problems. “Our physical health, mental health, financial security, and expectations for the future,” he writes, “have all been declining or at multi-decade lows for years.” Sharing lessons from the campaign trail, as founder and CEO of Venture for America—a nonprofit that channels enterprising recent college graduates into startups—and as founder of Humanity Forward, which promotes a “human-centered economy,” the author proposes key structural changes. Election reform is paramount: When Yang first declared as a candidate, he felt largely ignored by the media until he grew in popularity on Twitter. The market drives media coverage, he asserts, and media thrive on fomenting polarization. Yang proposes open primaries and ranked-choice voting, which, he argues, better accounts for voter preferences. Noting that most members of Congress were elected in the 1980s or ’90s, Yang advocates term limits, which would also lessen lawmakers’ need for constant fundraising for reelection. Addressing legislative gridlock, the author acknowledges that government bureaucracies are “designed for stasis and inaction.” Lawmakers are “actively discouraged” from bipartisan cooperation, and lobbyists have undue influence. Yang proposes getting rid of the filibuster and convening “civic juries” to inform legislators about their constituents’ real concerns. Technological upgrading is crucial, as well—e.g., the creation of a citizen portal where people could renew licenses, file tax information, get benefits, and register to vote. As a presidential candidate, Yang famously proposed a Universal Basic Income of $1,000 a month, and he also advocates health care for all. The pandemic, he notes, has exacerbated divisiveness and sparked racism—which, as an Asia American, Yang has experienced directly. The most significant things the country needs, he believes, are grace, tolerance, and forgiveness.
Nothing earth-shattering, but Yang offers thoughtful, sensible proposals for a better democracy.Pub Date: Oct. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-23865-3
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
For Howard Zinn, long-time civil rights and anti-war activist, history and ideology have a lot in common. Since he thinks that everything is in someone's interest, the historian—Zinn posits—has to figure out whose interests he or she is defining/defending/reconstructing (hence one of his previous books, The Politics of History). Zinn has no doubts about where he stands in this "people's history": "it is a history disrespectful of governments and respectful of people's movements of resistance." So what we get here, instead of the usual survey of wars, presidents, and institutions, is a survey of the usual rebellions, strikes, and protest movements. Zinn starts out by depicting the arrival of Columbus in North America from the standpoint of the Indians (which amounts to their standpoint as constructed from the observations of the Europeans); and, after easily establishing the cultural disharmony that ensued, he goes on to the importation of slaves into the colonies. Add the laborers and indentured servants that followed, plus women and later immigrants, and you have Zinn's amorphous constituency. To hear Zinn tell it, all anyone did in America at any time was to oppress or be oppressed; and so he obscures as much as his hated mainstream historical foes do—only in Zinn's case there is that absurd presumption that virtually everything that came to pass was the work of ruling-class planning: this amounts to one great indictment for conspiracy. Despite surface similarities, this is not a social history, since we get no sense of the fabric of life. Instead of negating the one-sided histories he detests, Zinn has merely reversed the image; the distortion remains.
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1979
ISBN: 0061965588
Page Count: 772
Publisher: Harper & Row
Review Posted Online: May 26, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1979
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A fierce, penetrating, and empowering call for change.
Artist and activist Vaid-Menon demonstrates how the normativity of the gender binary represses creativity and inflicts physical and emotional violence.
The author, whose parents emigrated from India, writes about how enforcement of the gender binary begins before birth and affects people in all stages of life, with people of color being especially vulnerable due to Western conceptions of gender as binary. Gender assignments create a narrative for how a person should behave, what they are allowed to like or wear, and how they express themself. Punishment of nonconformity leads to an inseparable link between gender and shame. Vaid-Menon challenges familiar arguments against gender nonconformity, breaking them down into four categories—dismissal, inconvenience, biology, and the slippery slope (fear of the consequences of acceptance). Headers in bold font create an accessible navigation experience from one analysis to the next. The prose maintains a conversational tone that feels as intimate and vulnerable as talking with a best friend. At the same time, the author's turns of phrase in moments of deep insight ring with precision and poetry. In one reflection, they write, “the most lethal part of the human body is not the fist; it is the eye. What people see and how people see it has everything to do with power.” While this short essay speaks honestly of pain and injustice, it concludes with encouragement and an invitation into a future that celebrates transformation.
A fierce, penetrating, and empowering call for change. (writing prompt) (Nonfiction. 14-adult)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09465-5
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
