Towards a Case for a Second American Revolution

In this essay I make an argument for a Second American Revolution (SAR) in the United States. In Part I, I discuss the current context, providing a brief sketch of recent historical developments leading into the neoliberal era, and the current critical juncture. I then present a list of policy problems which, taken together, I argue justify a revolution. Part II of the essay focuses on the ends of a SAR. Here I highlight the timeliness of a new constitution and emphasize in particular the anticipated benefits of a more proportional electoral system for the House of Representatives. I also underscore the necessity of an ideological paradigm shift from neoliberalism and describe the basic parameters of a libertarian social democratic alternative. Part III deals with the means of the SAR, where I discuss the need to relax our partisan loyalties to the Democratic and Republican parties and emphasize the importance of building a broad-based nonpartisan revolutionary coalition. In Part IV, I examine some of the major challenges facing a revolutionary movement in the United States and conclude by suggesting a few possible actions people can take to help get the revolutionary ball rolling. (C) 2016 by The Transformative Studies Institute. All rights reserved.