Our desperate need to save US democracy from ourselves

[Commentary] The trouble is that no one really sees it as their job to save American democracy — not politicians, not owners of social media platforms, not advocates of conservative and liberal causes, and maybe not even citizens themselves. Instead, in the course of selfishly or zealously pursuing our interests, we all do our bit to chip away at the great gift of democracy. Eventually, unless we start taking better care of democracy, it’s going to stop taking care of us.

American democracy is a marvelous edifice for governing in which we all pursue our own interests. But its health and persistence depends upon restraint and ethical commitments to preserving democracy. That’s why each of us needs to make it part of our job to save American democracy.

[Archon Fung is the Ford Foundation Professor of Democracy and Citizenship at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.]