Dr. Pierson’s lecture took a look at the ways in which partisan polarization threatens the future of the American republic. Drawing on his two most recent books, Off-Center: The Republican Revolution and the Erosion of American Democracy, and Winner-Take-All Politics: How Washington Made the Rich Richer and Turned Its Back on the Middle Class, he discussed the ways in which power, class, and politics are intertwined.

Dr. Pierson is the John Gross Professor of Political Science at the University of California Berkley, and co-author of Off-Center: The Republican Revolution and the Erosion of American Democracy, and most recently Winner-Take-All Politics: How Washington Made the Rich Richer and Turned Its Back on the Middle Class (Simon and Schuster 2010), co-authored by Jacob Hacker. Pierson is an active commentator on public affairs; his writings have recently appeared in such outlets as The New York Times Magazine, The Washington Post, and The New Republic, and he recently appeared on Moyers & Company talking about Winner-Take-All Politics.