Arthur Brooks:

In a democratic society, in a capitalist culture, our leaders actually are followers. They tend to be a consequence, not a cause of our actions.

They do affect us, and they do affect our culture, to be sure. But what's happening in democratic societies and with democratic elections is that leaders see a parade going down the street, and they jump out in front of it to be the leader.

If we want something better, each one of us needs to take a different path. That's the reason — I started off writing this book as an institutional book, how to make better politics and better culture. I wound up writing a book about how each one of us can individually be a better person.

And that's how we get it. It's true that Democratic and Republican leaders today have a big problem of treating other people with contempt, because that's, they believe, their secret to success. Let's make it not the secret to their success, and you will quickly see a difference in behavior among journalists, among other members of the media, certainly among politicians, academics, leaders, people who actually get followers on social media.

They will fall in line.