Transform Society, One Citizen at a Time
Can ordinary individuals redefine societal structures and narratives?
Jon Alexander introduces us to five extraordinary individuals, each from different backgrounds but sharing a common purpose. They embody the 'Citizen Story', demonstrating creativity, capability, and care in their everyday lives.
Will these individuals be able to challenge societal norms and inspire others to become active citizens? Can they successfully transform their communities despite the challenges they face?
If they succeed, they could inspire a shift from passive consumerism to active citizenship, potentially transforming society. Failure could mean a continued acceptance of limiting societal narratives.
Reading this book is an emotional journey, filled with inspiration, resilience, and a renewed belief in the power of active citizenship.
Jon Alexander, a co-founder of the New Citizenship Project, is a fervent advocate for societal transformation and active citizenship.
'An underground hit' - Best Politics Books, Financial Times
'Jon has one of the few big ideas that's easily applied' - Sam Conniff, Be More Pirate
'A wonderful guide to how to be human in the 21st Century' - Ece Temelkuran, How to Lose a Country: the Seven Steps from Democracy to Dictatorship
CONTENTS
Foreword. Brian Eno sets out the value of Citizens in framing a new, optimistic cooperative story for our age, as opposed to the two other options: authoritarian states such as China and "Siliconia" - "a Consumer state with centralised power and deep surveillance".
1. Opening. Jon Alexander sets out the need to 'step into' the Citizen Story so that we can deal with the many challenges of our age: economic insecurity, ecological emergency, public health threats, political polarisation, and more.
2. Citizens Everywhere. How humans are bound together through interdependence and reciprocity, and in turn have a deep bond with nature, which conventional big business cannot understand.
3. Citizens By Nature. Central to the Citizen Story is a belief in ourselves and in human nature as creative, capable, and caring, rather than lazy, self-interested, and competitive within a zero-sum framework.
4. We're All Consumers Now. The launch of the consumer age, by way of Apple's advert for its new Macintosh at the US SuperBowl in 1984.
5. Once We Were Subjects. Before the Consumer, there was another story: the Subject, as in 'subjects of the king.' In this story, the Great Man - the Chief, Pope, King, Boss, Father - knows best.
6. Citizen NGOs. The Consumer Story is falling apart, but the truth alone is not enough to ensure it passes to the Citizen Story. We must act too, to seize control of our futures.
7. Citizen Business. How businesses can harness the power of the Citizen Story to make their workings more popular and inclusive, and to drive societal change.
8. Citizen Government. Taiwan has pioneered the application of citizen government, in stark comparison to Communist China.
9. Closing. A new Citizen movement is building. Examples include Paris approving a standing Citizens' Assembly.