A cornucopia of ideas worth considering.

Twelve years after his role in the 2000 presidential election and nearly 50 since Unsafe at Any Speed (1965) shocked the U.S. auto industry, Nader remains a font of ideas about all that ails the U.S. economy and the U.S. polity. No reader will be surprised that corporate America is the focus of many proposals, among them eliminating corporate welfare, cracking down on corporate crime, establishing national charters for the largest corporations, and cutting the military budget. Anyone who’s followed Nader’s career will also expect his advocacy for political changes, including restoring civil liberties, reinvesting in infrastructure, and forcing Congress to have Skin in the Game. But many of Nader’s solutions require action by ordinary citizens—reengaging with civic life, building more self-reliant communities, taking back control over science and technology, and watchdogging Congress. Notably, Nader urges enlisting support from the enlightened super-rich to generate the modest but essential funding needed for campaigns to turn his other recommendations into reality. Timely, relevant ideas from a veteran of generations of battles for small-d democracy. --Mary Carroll