In 1789, the Constitutional Convention decided to revive a form of government untried since the collapse of the Athenian democracy and the Roman republic in ancient times. Why? What problems does democracy solve, and what problems does it create? These days, when even autocrats stage elections to bolster their legitimacy, is democracy the natural form of government? How did the founding fathers account for the inherent contradiction of slavery within its democratic ideals? How did America’s young democracy manage the peaceful transfer of power between bitterly opposed political factions, when so many modern democracies fail that test?
Guests: Danielle Allen, James Bryant Conant University Professor at Harvard University, and Director of Harvard's Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics; author of Our Declaration: A Reading of the Declaration of Independence in Defense of Equality.