In _America, Compromised_ Lawrence Lessig captures a snapshot of contemporary America and forms an argument on how the institutions of the American government have come to be the way they are. Throughout the book, Lessig shows that the modern problems plaguing corrupt political institutions cannot simply be blamed upon the "bad people" of society. Rather, Lessig argues that it is compromise that has brought down the American system. Image: [book cover](http://www.harvard.com/event/lawrence_lessig2/ "Book Cover")
**Lawrence Lessig** is the Director of the [Edmond J. Safra Foundation Center for Ethics](http://www.ethics.harvard.edu/) at Harvard University, and a Professor of Law at [Harvard Law School](http://www.law.harvard.edu/index.html). For much of his academic career, Lessig has focused on law and technology, especially as it affects copyright. He is the author of five books on the subject — *[Remix](http://remix.lessig.org/)* (2008), Code v2