Rock Ethics Institute

Since 2015, Christopher Beem (Ph.D., University of Chicago) has served as managing director of the McCourtney Institute for Democracy. He is also Associate Research Professor in the Department of Political Science. He is the author or co-editor of five books, including The Necessity of Politics (University of Chicago Press). His latest book, Democratic Humility: Reinhold Niebuhr, Neuroscience and America's Political Crisis (Lexington Books, 2015) argues that democracy requires a specific kind of humility to counter our natural inclination to self-delusion and self-righteousness. Before joining the Institute, Beem served as grants and communications manager for Next Door, a nonprofit organization dedicated to early childhood education in Milwaukee's central city. Before that, he directed the Democracy and Community Program at the Johnson Foundation's Wingspread Conference Center.