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

by Katherine M Gehl and Michael E. Porter

Mike Gallagher (R-WI) (Foreword) and Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) (Foreword)

Our political system in America is broken, right? Wrong.

The truth is, the American political system is working exactly how it is designed to work, and it isn't designed or optimized today to work for us&#8212for ordinary citizens.

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&#8212the Democrats and the Republicans&#8212and 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, business leader and path-breaking political innovator Katherine Gehl and world-renowned business strategist Michael Porter take a radical new approach. They ingeniously apply the tools of business analysis&#8212and Porter's distinctive Five Forces framework&#8212to 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&#8212a 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.

The Politics Industry is an original and completely nonpartisan guide that will open your eyes to the true dynamics and profound challenges of the American political system and provide real solutions for reshaping the system for the benefit of all.

THE INSTITUTE FOR POLITICAL INNOVATION
The authors will donate all royalties from the sale of this book to the Institute for Political Innovation.

• ISBN13: 9781633699236
• Publish Date: 7 July 2020 (first published 23 June 2020)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Harvard Business Review Press
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 272
• Language: English

Reviews

[Jeff Sexton]

Just Another Dogmatic Diatribe. With a title and premise like this, I truly had high hopes for this book. I should learn to not have such high hopes for such books, given that they almost always are utter disappointments, and this one is no exception to that generality. It raises some good points, particularly as they relate to ballot access and the nature of the duopoly system of government we have in the US. But beyond that this truly is just another dogmatic diatribe, this one from self-professed "moderates" that are actually anything but. It ends with an "altar call" urging *you* to act and donate your money, even as the authors sit back comfortably writing books and being "activists" rather than actually putting their own names on the ballot to try to achieve their stated goals. They want *you* to take the heat in running for office... even as they don't have the guts. So take it from someone who *has* run for office, twice. Read this book, as it genuinely does have a couple of good ideas. But read it with a boulder of salt, because the authors aren't brave enough to get in the fire themselves, and it is only within the fire that you truly see your ideas in action. Recommended.