Olivier Zunz is James Madison Professor of History Emeritus at the University of Virginia and a senior fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture. His many books include The Man Who Understood Democracy: The Life of Alexis de Tocqueville, Making America Corporate, 1870–1920, Why the American Century?, and Philanthropy in America: A History.
How did we reach the age of the average, and what did it mean for American democracy?