Democracy Forum 1/16/26: Constitutional Crisis: Can Democracy Survive Billionaire Economics?

About this episode

The episode discusses the impact of wealth and income inequality on democracy, featuring insights from experts on the potential rise of authoritarianism in the U.S.

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Linda Washburn, Joel Mann Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics. This month: We’ll talk about how wealth and income inequality undermine democracy. Does extreme income inequality lead to right wing authoritarianism? How does that work? Is that playing out in the U.S. right now? In Maine? Guest/s: Garrett Martin, President & CEO, Maine Center for Economic Policy Susan Stokes, the Tiffany and Margaret Blake Distinguished Service Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Chicago. She is the author of the new book, The Backsliders: Why Leaders Undermine Their Own Democracies | Princeton University Press, September 2025 To learn more about this topic: Visit LWVME.org About the host: Ann Luther currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009. The post Democracy Forum 1/16/26: Constitutional Crisis: Can Democracy Survive Billionaire Economics? first appeared on WERU 89.9…

People in this episode

Host: Ann Luther

Guests: Garrett Martin, Susan Stokes

Topics covered

• Constitutional Crisis
• Billionaire Economics
• Wealth Inequality
• Income Inequality
• Authoritarianism
• Participatory Democracy

Keywords

• League of Women Voters
• Maine Center for Economic Policy
• Political Science
• The Backsliders

Mentioned in this episode

Products: The Backsliders: Why Leaders Undermine Their Own Democracies

Books & works: The Backsliders: Why Leaders Undermine Their Own Democracies

Places: U.S., Maine

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