The Politics Industry, Michael E. Porter
The Politics Industry, Michael E. Porter
1 Rating(s)
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
Club: $9.99

The Politics Industry
How Political Innovation Can Break Partisan Gridlock and Save Our Democracy

Author: Michael E. Porter, Katherine M. Gehl

Narrator: Stephen R. Thorne

Unabridged: 6 hr 4 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Kalorama

Published: 07/21/2020

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included


Synopsis

Most people believe that our political system is a public institution with high-minded principles and impartial rules derived from the Constitution. In reality, it has become a private industry dominated by a textbook duopoly—the Democrats and the Republicans—and plagued and perverted by unhealthy competition between the players. Tragically, it has therefore become incapable of delivering solutions to America's key economic and social challenges. In fact, there's virtually no connection between our political leaders solving problems and getting reelected.

In The Politics Industry, Katherine Gehl and Michael Porter take a radical new approach. They ingeniously apply the tools of business analysis—and Porter's distinctive Five Forces framework—to show how the political system functions just as every other competitive industry does, and how the duopoly has led to the devastating outcomes we see today.

Using this competition lens, Gehl and Porter identify the most powerful lever for change—a strategy comprised of a clear set of choices in two key areas: how our elections work and how we make our laws. Their bracing assessment and practical recommendations cut through the endless debate about various proposed fixes, such as term limits and campaign finance reform. The result: true political innovation.

About Michael E. Porter

Michael E. Porter is the Bishop William Lawrence University Professor at Harvard Business School. He was named a University Professor by Harvard's president in 2000. Porter is the author of nineteen books, including Competitive Strategy, Competitive Advantage, The Competitive Advantage of Nations, On Competition, and Redefining Health Care, as well as countless articles in both scholarly and nonscholarly publications. He lives in Boston.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Scottsdale Public Library on June 07, 2024

For those readers lamenting the continuing political bickering, Gehl and Porter provide unique insights to the problem and the resolution. Their central thesis expresses the viewpoint of big money dwarfing the meaning of individual votes. To assure their ideas are accurately portrayed, I quote them,......more

Goodreads review by David on April 11, 2020

If you weren’t disgusted enough with politics in America, here are Katherine Gehl and Michael Porter to put parameters on exactly how pathetic it all is. In The Politics Industry, they look at parties as if they were a for profit industry, using Porter’s famous and standard Five Forces. They find th......more

Goodreads review by Star Matheny on June 30, 2020

Thinking about US politics like an industry with two mega-powerful companies (Democrats and Republicans) really helped me grapple with the systemic issues our country faces and how we might hope to solve them. Usually, when I learn about politics, I get so frustrated because it doesn't seem like we......more

Goodreads review by Rachel on July 01, 2020

I think The Politics Industry is a much needed ray of hope in today’s dismal political culture. The authors use industry competition analysis to diagnose what is wrong with the American political system and prescribe a cure. This book helped me envision an America where politics is no longer plagued......more

Goodreads review by Steve on July 02, 2020

This book was a Best of the Best for July 2020, as selected by Stevo's Book Reviews on the Internet and Stevo's Novel Ideas. Find more reviews and recommendations by searching for me on Google.......more