Epilogue

This Epilogue encapsulates the main thread of the book and reflects on the current state of US politics. In order to sustain democratic relations with our allies, we need also to sustain democratic relations with at least some of our opponents, even though we may see them as obstacles to achieving justice. Sustaining democracy with political opponents is not easy, as current conditions in the United States and elsewhere amply demonstrate. Yet this book does not attempt to provide a blueprint for saving democracy. It only aspires to demonstrate that the project of restoring democracy is in part a task within each citizen to manage psychological and cognitive forces that impede the democratic ethos.