What if the problem with American democracy isn't just polarization, corruption, or disinformation—but sheer size?
In this week’s episode of A Couple Thinks, we take on a provocative hypothesis: Democracy might not work at the scale of 340 million people spread across a huge country.
Lisa walks us through her research into the world’s top-performing democracies, and what they all seem to have in common—smaller populations, higher trust in institutions, and often, more geographic proximity. Think Scandinavia, not superpowers.
{resource: The Economist Democracy Index}
We unpack why scale might matter more than we realize when it comes to empathy, trust, and functional governance. If most people are willing to help someone in their own community but disengage from the struggles of strangers thousands of miles away, what does that mean for national unity?
Aaron expands the conversation by exploring how state identities, geographic hazards, and shared experiences (or lack thereof) can shape our sense of connection—or distance—from one another.
Along the way, we ask:
* What makes a democracy successful—and can it scale?
* Are we living in the United States or just a collection of semi-connected regions?
* Could a looser federation—like a European Union of American countries—work better?
It’s a big conversation about big things: size, empathy, identity, and the real limits of governance.
Plus, in our joyful moments segment, we share road trip dreams and the simple joy of laughter at home.
👉 Listen in and let us know: Is democracy just too big to work at this scale? Would you join the hypothetical “Union of American Countries”? And what would you name your region?
And here are a regular action item recommendations:
Good Trouble Live On events, July 17th. Find info at mobilize.us. Sponsors include: the Transformative Justice Coalition, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Indivisible. The 50501 Movement, and more!
📬 Write us at hello@acouplethinks.com—we really do want to know.
