Summary The book begins with the thought that the crisis in this world today is that everyone has a feeling of helplessness and hopelessness. This is due to the democracy we have today. The author's definition of a living democracy empowers us to begin the creation of institutions that serve life. Living democracy means involving more people in solving problems. If the people closest to the problem could help and be problem solvers, the solution would seem more reasonable and adequate. The author's problem with weak democracy is that there are not enough people involved in this nation's democracy. It makes you feel like you're worthless or like you don't matter. This is where feelings of helplessness and helplessness come into play. The book goes on to tell you why you may experience these feelings of helplessness and helplessness. How can we as citizens of this country expect to have a living, efficient, complete democracy when the people who run it are corrupt and do things that are totally opposite to living democracy? The book uses the Bush administration as an example. They diluted the Clean Water Act so that it now doesn't apply to sixty percent of major waterways. They refused to raise the minimum wage. They cut funding for the police and programs that help low-income families. They also cut funding for affordable housing, public schools, child care for low-income families and nutrition. It might seem that this subtle democracy is all there is. This is not true, there are places and times where living democracy is what prevails and this is what gives us hope and the will to move forward. The book goes on to discuss the thought of what makes a person truly happy. People think they can fill the voids in their lives with a brand new boat or car, but that's not true. This section talks about power and what it is. People think that power means having money and nice things, well today it is like that. This view of power only separates us as a nation even more than we already are. Once a person's basic needs are met, all they really need are healthy relationships with the people they are close to.