By weaving the personal testimonies of six women activists from the United States and South Africa with newspaper accounts, government reports, feminist theory, and social philosophy, Crazy for Democracy shows that women's movements have been transforming the possibilities for democracy all over the world.

In community-based social movements, women are reviving civil society by making claims to a better world for all of us. To save their neighborhoods and resist callous and oppressive governments, women have formed local citizens' organizations, demanding satisfaction of basic human needs for housing, a clean environment, and human rights as part of democracy. By bringing these women to life, Temma Kaplan affirms that activism is alive, well, and growing despite what critics may believe.