Partisan politics, brinkmanship, periodic threats to shutdown the government over seemingly routine matters — it is easy to see why so many Americans have grown disillusioned with the political system. "If there's too much cynicism, then the Constitution won't work, it can't," Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer tells The Takeaway. A Clinton appointee who has spent 15 years on the nation's highest court, Breyer warns that a jaded, disfranchised electorate is perilous to a functioning democracy in the U.S. under the Constitution.

In his new book, "Making Our Democracy Work: A Judge's View," Breyer discusses why it is imperative for citizens to participate in civic life and understand the government for democracy to continue to flourish. Justice Breyer talks about the challenges facing government, controversial Supreme Court decisions like Bush v. Gore and Citizens United, and answers listener questions about the Court.