勞倫斯·萊斯格（Lawrence Lessig）生於1961年，是美國知名的法律學者及網絡版權研究者，先後在斯坦福大學、哈佛大學及芝加哥大學等名校擔任要職，目前為哈佛法學院的終身教授。作為網絡版權的資深研究者，他創立瞭著名的“知識共享”（Creative Commons ）組織，是享譽國際的“CC之父”。作為社會活動傢，他是多個政治組織的創立者或資深成員，持續在各大媒體上尖銳地批評美國政治製度的腐敗，並呼籲民眾和精英發動憲政改革。2015年，萊斯格宣布以民主黨候選人的身份參加總統選舉，力爭成為第一位“公投總統”，並於同年年底退選。

In an era of ballooning corporate campaign expenditures, unleashed by the Supreme Court in Citizens United, trust in our government is at an all time low. More than ever before, Americans believe that money buys results in Congress - and that our Republic has been lost. Using examples that resonate as powerfully on the Right as on the Left, REPUBLIC, LOST not only makes clear how the economy of influence defeats the will of the people, but offers cogent strategies to correct our course - from a constitutional convention to a Regent Presidency. A onetime friend of Barack Obama, Lessig, a professor of law at Harvard, is as critical of the president and the Democratic Party as he is of Republicans. Both have allowed the core institution of our democracy to become little more than a shill for the most powerful moneyed interests in our Republic. America may be divided, argues Lessig, but we must recognize that corruption is our common enemy, and we must find a way to fight against it.