Why the People: The Case for Democracy

Description

Is democracy still the best form of government? Does it ever work like it's supposed to? In the middle of an airport, while waiting for a flight, Julie and Lin wonder aloud how America can ever be a democracy when citizens seem to disagree over everything. From there, the reader is whisked through political history, as Julie and Lin explain the differences between systems of power, including monarchy, theocracy, dictatorship, and oligarchy. In this witty and well-argued political graphic novel, Beka Feathers and Ally Shwed shed light on how democracy works, what makes it more effective, and the way it truly gives power to the people as long as we choose to wield it.

Beka Feathers is a legal adviser who has worked with clients and partners in more than a dozen countries, helping to draft constitutions, design transitional governments, facilitate peace processes, and advocate for improved access to justice. She is a proud alumna of Lewis & Clark College, the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy, and American University's Washington College of Law. Ally Shwed is a cartoonist, writer, and editor, originally from Linden, New Jersey. She received her MFA in sequential art from the Savannah College of Art & Design and has worked with The Boston Globe, Topic, Jezebel, and The Intercept. She regularly contributes to the comics journalism website The Nib and is the editor-in-chief of Little Red Bird Press, a comics publisher and printmaking studio.

Readers within sight of voting age will come away with lots of useful tools and perspectives.--School Library Journal A buoyant but clear-eyed addition to this useful series. --Publisher's Weekly