Senator Chris Murphy at First Parish Church

Harvard Book Store welcomes Senator Chris Murphy—lawyer, author, and politician serving since 2013 as the junior United States senator from Connecticut—for a discussion of his new book, Crisis of the Common Good: The Fight for Meaning and Connection in a Broken America. He will be joined in conversation by Heather Cox Richardson—professor of history at Boston College and bestselling author of Democracy Awakening.

There are two ticket options for this event. Tickets go on sale Thursday, April 2nd at 9am.

1. Book-Included Tickets: Includes admission for one and one hardcover copy of Crisis of the Common Good pre-signed by Senator Chris Murphy.
2. Admission-Only Tickets: Includes admission for one.

Note: Books bundled with tickets may only be picked up at the venue the night of the event, and cannot be picked up in-store beforehand. Ticket holders who purchased a book-included ticket and are unable to attend the event will be able to pick up their book at Harvard Book Store up to 30 days following the event. This offer expires after 30 days. Please note we cannot guarantee signed copies will be available to ticket holders who do not attend the event.

Please be aware that security measures at the venue will be heightened for this event. Large bags or backpacks will not be permitted. If you must carry a bag, please use a small wristlet or handheld wallet, or clear plastic, vinyl or PVC. All items brought into this event are subject to inspection.

A prominent senator assesses the destructive ideas that have seized the American spirit—and shows how the hidden alignments in our politics can free us from their hold.

Today, the United States is in a crisis—and it’s not just a political one: over fifty years, the pursuit of profit has undermined virtue and character, while too many of us have become convinced that happiness results from acting as good consumers, rather than as good citizens. New technologies threaten essential human capabilities, and a winner-takes-all mentality has given the rich and well-connected nearly uncontested control and has corrupted our government. The result: Americans have lost the sense of purpose and connection that are vital to happiness. In this vacuum, Donald Trump, feeding off the emptiness and resentment, has come to power.
In recent years, Senator Chris Murphy has stepped forward to challenge the Trump administration’s assaults on our democracy. He sees that these assaults are a symptom of a deeper crisis: the abandonment of the common good as our country’s organizing principle. In his unflinching new book, he draws on history and political philosophy to expose how six different cults have seized hold of American life and paved the way to our current troubles: cults of profit, globalism, technology, consumption, credentialism, and corruption.
Refusing despair, Murphy offers a new politics of the common good that is both deeply rooted in our past and a challenge to the status quo. A majority of Americans favor policies that confront these destructive cults by curbing corporate power, controlling predatory technology, enhancing face-to-face connection, granting workers greater control of their lives, and removing big money from our politics. The common good, Murphy shows, is a vital principle ready to be claimed today.

Chris Murphy has represented Connecticut in the U.S. Senate since 2013. A previous member of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Connecticut state legislature, he is known for his work to combat gun violence, political corruption, and the scourge of loneliness in America. He is the author of The Violence Inside Us: A Brief History of an Ongoing American Tragedy. Crisis of the Common Good is his second book.

Heather Cox Richardson is professor of history at Boston College and an expert in nineteenth century America, specializing in politics and economics. Her nightly newsletter, Letters from an American, reaches over 6 million readers. Heather’s award-winning books span subjects from the Civil War and Reconstruction to the Gilded Age, the American West and the history of the Republican Party through the Trump administration. She is the author, most recently, of the best-selling Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America. Jane Mayer has called the book “a vibrant, and essential history of America's unending, enraging and utterly compelling struggle since its founding to live up to its own best ideals.” She hosts two video series, Journey to American Democracy and American Conversations, both of which are available on YouTube and Facebook. Her articles and reviews have been published in the Washington Post, the New York Times, and The Guardian, among others.

Masks are encouraged but not required for this event.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

Get App

Host or Publisher Harvard Book Store