Posted on February 20, 2023 in Review of the Week
Fullmer, Elliott. McFarland, 2022
257p bibl index, 9781476688572 $39.95, 9781476647043
Fullmer’s book about democracy in America focuses on several ways the US political system falls significantly short of treating citizens equally. The chapters are made up of insightful analyses of eight different problems, including gerrymandering, the Electoral College, unequal representation in the Senate, the lack of representation for the District of Columbia and other territories, and campaign finance. While all of these topics have been well discussed elsewhere, what makes this book valuable is both the usefulness of having them together under the unified theme of inequality and the high quality of the discussion. Fullmer (Randolph-Macon College) does not just point out the problems; he ponders possible solutions (for instance, several different ways that the Senate’s unequal representation problem could be overcome despite the constitutional roadblocks) and counterarguments in defense of the status quo. While Fullmer makes an effort to keep the arguments nonpartisan, it is an undeniable fact, dealt with briefly in the conclusion, that Republicans benefit from most of the inequalities analyzed and forcefully oppose these reform efforts. This book would make a helpful supplementary text in an American government course.
Summing Up: Highly recommended. Undergraduates through faculty and general readers.
Reviewer: J. Heyrman, Berea College
Subject: Social & Behavioral Sciences – Political Science – U.S. Politics
Choice Issue: March 2023
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