How do we define elites today? As Starbucks-drinking, NPR-listening snobs?

The true definition of an elite is a relatively small group of people that has undue influence over society. Even “people who have cable TV shows” are elites, MSNBC’s Chris Hayes said as he sat down with New America’s vice president and editorial director Andrés Martinez to discuss his new book Twilight of the Elites: America After Meritocracy.

In its 1948 declaration of independence, Israel committed to “ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex." Today, those fundamental democratic ideals are at stake. In Israel, the continued occupation of the West Bank and an emboldened conservative government are putting Israeli democracy at risk.

From corporate whistleblowing to civil disobedience, some of the boldest acts of dissent are carried out not by radicals seeking to overthrow the system, but by true believers clinging with unusual fierceness to their convictions. In his latest book, Eyal Press tells the dramatic stories of people who refused to conform when facing a morally compromising situation.

Do the Internet and social media empower Big Brother or individuals in autocratic regimes, or do they offer a rare level playing field?