Downsizing Democracy

Originally publushed in 2002. In Downsizing Democracy, Matthew A. Crenson and Benjamin Ginsberg describe how the once powerful idea of a collective citizenry has given way to a concept of personal, autonomous democracy. Today, political change is effected through litigation, lobbying, and term limits, rather than active participation in the political process, resulting in narrow special interest groups dominating state and federal decision-making. At a time when an American's investment in the democratic process has largely been reduced to an annual contribution to a political party or organization, Downsizing Democracy offers a critical reassessment of American democracy

Oral history of Matthew Crenson

Matthew Crenson graduated from Johns Hopkins in 1963 and went on to receive his Ph.D. in political science from the University of Chicago in 1967. He is currently a Professor Emeritus at Johns Hopkins University and has previously worked as the Faculty Director of the university's Baltimore Scholars Program and on the Homewood Institutional Review Board. In this history, Crenson discusses both his time as a student and professor at Hopkins. This oral history is part of the Hopkins Retrospective oral histories series