Professor Martin Gilens

Department of Politics, Princeton University

Chaired by Professor Melissa Lane, Class of 1943 Professor of Politics and Director, University Center for Human Values

America faces many daunting problems—stagnant wages, high health care costs, neglected schools, deteriorating public services. Yet, our government often seems to ignore the needs of its citizens. Policymakers pay more attention to organized interests than to ordinary Americans, our political parties are dominated by ideological activists, and our government gets bogged down in partisan gridlock and inaction. The solution to these problems is more democracy: more equal opportunity for citizens to shape what their government does. To strengthen our democracy we must change the way we choose candidates and conduct our elections, reform the internal rules of our governing institutions, and curb the power of private money in our politics. By forcing political parties and officeholders to respond to the preferences of ordinary Americans, we can reduce polarization and gridlock, address pressing challenges, and enact policies that better reflect the interests of average Americans.