What is Democracy

(2018) - Coming at a moment of profound political and social crisis, What Is Democracy? reflects on a word we too often take for granted. Director Astra Taylor’s idiosyncratic, philosophical journey spans millennia and continents: from ancient Athens’ groundbreaking experiment in self-government to capitalism’s roots in medieval Italy; from modern-day Greece grappling with financial collapse and a mounting refugee crisis to the United States reckoning with its racist past and the growing gap between rich and poor. Featuring a diverse cast—including celebrated theorists, trauma surgeons, activists, factory workers, asylum seekers, and former prime ministers—this urgent film connects the past and the present, the emotional and the intellectual, the personal and the political, in order to provoke and inspire. If we want to live in democracy, we must first ask what the word even means.

Rent or buy the full film here.

Related posts
Research
A Short History of Fix Democracy First's Work on Money in Politics

An overview of our work toward a system in which citizens’ voices in government are not dependent upon their financial resources

Clean Campaigns Act Unanimously Approved by Seattle City Council!

BIG win in Seattle! Two of the three bills that are part of the Clean Campaigns Act passed unanimously.

Seattle Clean Elections

The Seattle Clean Elections Ordinance poses the possibility of eliminating Super PACs Nationwide.