Republic, Lost | Lawrence Lessig | Talks at Google

Caption notes

In this historical talk, Lawrence Lessig describes US congressional campaign fundraising as an institutional dependency that can conflict with representing voters. He uses disputes over copyright, taxation and financial regulation to distinguish two possible effects of fundraising: how Congress decides and which issues reach its agenda. He also argues that even the belief that money shapes outcomes can weaken trust and participation. Lessig advocates using public funds to amplify small donations, and in the questions discusses independent expenditures and his idea of randomly selecting citizens for a constitutional convention. The guide presents his analysis and proposals at the time. Causation in individual cases, historical statistics and legal judgments await independent verification.