civil society and government leaders in Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, China, and Muammar Gaddafi's Libya. Meaning and central thesis of Strong Democracy In the 2004 preface to his Strong Democracy, Barber explains the central premise of that book: "Once established strongly in the political and civic realm, democracy can assure sufficient equality and justice to coexist with a variety of economic systems." He goes on to say that his goal in writing that book was not "to replace representative with strong democracy, but to thicken thin democracy with a critical overlay of participatory institutions." Barber went on to propose "a national initiative and referendum act" which would "permit Americans to petition for a legislative referendum either on popular initiatives or on laws passed by Congress." Honors Barber's honors included a knighthood from the French Government (Palmes Academiques/Chevalier) (2001), the Berlin Prize of the American Academy in Berlin (2001) and the John Dewey Award (2003). He was also awarded Guggenheim, Fulbright, and Social Science Research Fellowships, honorary doctorates from Grinnell College, Monmouth University and Connecticut College, and held the chair of American Civilization at the École des hautes études en sciences sociales in Paris. 2016 elections In November 2016, Barber expressed the opinion that Black Americans who vote for Republicans vote against their own interests in an undercover video produced by controversial conservative activist group Project Veritas earlier that year. When confronted about his remarks by news station WRAL, Barber responded that the analogy to Sonderkommandos "was an overstatement and not one that I would make in public. I stand by the basic view that people of color – Latinos and African-Americans and others – who are voting for Trump are voting in total disregard of their own long-range interests and in total obliviousness to everything that Trump has said about Latinos, about immigrants, about African-Americans, his own racist record." Barber donated $12,825 to various political campaigns between 2008 and 2016, and described himself as an experienced fundraiser in his biography. Bibliography Superman and Common Men: Freedom, Anarchy and the Revolution (1971) The Death of Communal Liberty: A History of Freedom in a Swiss Mountain Canton (1974) Liberating Feminism (1976) Marriage Voices (1981 novel) Strong Democracy: Participatory Politics for a New Age (1984) The Conquest of Politics: Liberal Philosophy in Democratic Times (1988) An Aristocracy of Everyone: The Politics Of Education and the Future of America (1992) America Skips School