We the People, and the Republic we must reclaim | Lawrence Lessig

Caption notes

In this TED talk released in 2013, Lawrence Lessig invents Lesterland, where candidates need the support of a small group before they can compete in an election open to all voters. He uses the analogy to describe how he sees US campaign fundraising: candidates seek voters’ support while relying on donors, and those dependencies can conflict. He frames the problem in terms of institutional incentives and proposes broadening the funding base through small donations.