Part 1 The American persuasion - democracy vs the politics of plebiscitarianism: direct democracy and progressive political reform; populism and democracy; attacking democracy - state funding of political parties; political reform as a danger to democracy; regulating politics; democratic rights and the regulation of politics; "common cause" - the dangerous lobby; the end of "The American Dream" - crisis in American politics. Part 2 Theorists and advocates: Karl Mannheim - turning Marx upside down; alienation and the new slavery; right face - sociology under attack. Part 3 After the Cold War: civil society, democracy, and the Cold War; transnationalism from below - Labour into the 21st century. Part 4 In the battle - views and reviews: the authoritarian socialism of H.G. Wells; culture of complaint - the fraying of America.
