Wild Democracy calls for a more anarchic, more courageous democracy. This is an ethic for people who know the rights they hold, and who struggle to rule themselves. This is an ethic for unfinished revolutions; an ethic for those who will not be mastered. This is an ethic for those who hold fast to the rights they have by nature. This is an ethic that requires courage. Democracy is always a risky business; full of promise and danger. The promise is the freedom to rule ourselves. The danger is fear: fear of the unknown, fear of the unruly, fear of one another, fear of anarchy. Fear leads to authoritarianism. The fearful look for a strong hand, a powerful leader, a protector, a gun. Anarchy leads to courage, to self-reliance, self-discipline, self-rule, and solidarity. Anarchy is the nursery of democracy. It is not anarchy we have to fear, it is authoritarianism. We have been taught to see the people as a problem to be managed. Anne Norton sees them as a source of strength. Anarchic democracy grows wild: springing from the everyday actions of ordinary human beings. Liberalism and conservatism alike have turned away from the democratic, to institutions, rules, and regulations. Anne Norton turns to anarchic people who practice democratic ethics. "The knowledge of the commons may not be common knowledge right now, but it will be one day because Anne Norton is its prophet. 'If we are to be democrats,' she says, 'we must learn anarchy.' That means practicing the discipline needed to live with others with whom we differ and joining with others to democratize law. Part ethics, part politics, part how-to book, Wild Democracy is a brilliant cri de coeur. Written for readers of all classes and backgrounds, this book is a powerful, empathic call to the democracy of ungovernability needed to counter tyranny, authoritarianism, the rule of experts or judges, today's faceless algorithms, and whatever's coming next." -- Bonnie Honig, author of Shell-Shocked and A Feminist Theory of Refusal " Wild Democracy is a beautifully written manifesto, a path forward, a philosophical tone poem, a luscious essay, an inspiration, a very different way to see. Norton imagines what real democracy looks like―bold, anarchic, piratical―and guides us through its prospects and its pitfalls. This is the most exciting and iconoclastic book I've read in a long time." -- James A. Morone, author of Republic of Wrath and Hellfire Nation " Wild Democracy is a democratic compass for the twenty-first century. Anne Norton brings a new, bold, and regenerating perspective on democracy, its practice, virtues, and ethics. This book is a must-read for anyone who cares about the present and the future of democracy. Norton shows us that democracy is not stable but is always open to change. Democratic life does not coincide with voting. It demands that people face the possibility of change with courage and discipline. Wild Democracy invites us to deeply rethink democracy as a form of life and togetherness." -- Massimiliano Tomba, author of Insurgent Universality "Norton's new book Wild Democracy: Anarchy, Courage, and Ruling the Law sets out a capacious, anarchic, populist, energetic conception of democracy, above and beyond the narrow confines of political systems, lawmaking, and contemporary rivalries." -- Samuel McIlhagga, Los Angeles Review of Books "This is a fine addition to literature in the past 20 years exploring how people throughout history challenged authoritarianism...Highly recommended. All readership levels." -- Choice "The best work of democratic theory in decades. A provocation on every page, each indispensable for our times." -- Wendy Brown, Institute for Advanced Study Anne Norton is the Stacey and Henry Jackson President's Distinguished Professor at the University of Pennsylvania. She is the author of seven books, including Leo Strauss and the Politics of American Empire , 95 Theses on Politics, Culture, and Method , and On the Muslim Question .