Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right's Stealth… (original 2017; edition 2017)

This book might be the "Silent Spring" of politics. So much of the effort to radically change what the United States is as a nation and civilized society is contained in the writing. It is hard to write enticingly about politics, but MacLean does so. She offers the wake-up call to take action to save this democracy before it is too late to do so. ( )

I was aware of the criticism of this book from some libertarian scholars prior to reading this, so I read it with a more critical eye than I might otherwise have if I had only read the positive reviews. I'm not qualified to judge whether or not the critics are wholly correct (some complaints smacked of special pleading). Full disclosure: I am in no way an economic conservative or libertarian.

McLean has assembled some solid building blocks here in terms of an intellectual backdrop to contemporary anti-government political/economic theory: the work of scholars who had an underlying distrust of government and how they came to become an influential wing of thought. We have followers of Hayek and the Austrian School, the outsized influence of Charles Koch, and so on.

Despite that, the book doesn't quite gel as it should, for multiple reasons. McLean is not an economist. She doesn't really understand public choice theory. I am far from an expert, but I would not have understood its basic foundation if I hadn't done some extra research. She highlights particular examples of Buchanan's thought, such as his report into school segregation or his work in Chile, without giving the big picture in enough detail. She also doesn't give much of the theoretical basis of other influential economists and thinkers beyond a fundamental distrust of governmental institutions and belief in the market, preferring to emphasize practical policy prescriptions.

Her claim that Buchanan was crucial to the modern economic-libertarian movement is not fully supported by the text. While he was far from unimportant, McLean never fully demonstrates his direct influence. This is in part because the book is too short. The text of the book is only 234 pages, which gives you the sense of getting the highlight reel instead of seeing the entire game. McLean is also prone to using very short, out of context quotes, which makes me curious about their context. What's additionally frustrating about this book is that there is more material she could have used and did not. Several followers of this school of thought have outright suggested that the franchise be restricted, because the uninformed masses make poor choices.

There's also an air of "conspiracy!" that, again, isn't quite supported. The right wing plan may have been stealthy at one point, but it's been quite apparent for some time. More care could have been taken to draw together the applications of that movement, rather than brief paragraphs about labor and schools.

Somewhere, a great book is waiting to be written about libertarian economics and their practical application and misapplication. Sadly, this isn't it. ( )

The most deeply disturbing book I have read to date, made more so by the fact that it isn't a work of fiction.

We get an indepth look at the root that has spread throughout our political parties that was only hinted at in Ratf*cked.

An eye opening look at the depths a handful of men will go through to ensure they will retain power at the expense of millions, and explains in detail how they did it.

A must read for anyone who cares about or country. ( )

A wonderful book. The missing half star is due to the fact that she does not give an adequate history of the Mt Pelerin Society. She focuses on
James Buchanan, a future Nobel in economics, and Charles Koch, and gives
a good background to each. I knew about KocH, but I ha d no idea about the economist. ( )

I believe her. I've seen the effects with my own eyes. ( )