Rosa Zubizarreta

Tom Atlee

Using real-life stories, this book shows how to engage the combined wisdom of citizens to solve complex social problems. Demonstrating that groups, communities and whole societies can be more intelligent and wise collectively than most brilliant individuals, it shows how 'collective intelligence' could revolutionise politics and governance.

Using Co-intelligence to Create a World that Works for All

The Tao of Democracy

Judy Laddon

Larry Shook

The Upside of Y2K

Awakening

The Tao of Democracy presents an increasingly relevant and compelling vision of wiser public policy and vibrant democratic culture. Written by lifelong activist Tom Atlee, The Tao of Democracy is rooted in a simple, yet revolutionary proposition that opens doors to positive democratic change: Given a supportive structure and resources, diverse ordinary people can work together to achieve common ground. Tom Atlee takes readers through numerous examples of how this proposition has been tested and proven hundreds of times around the world in diverse and innovative forms of public conversation. • In Oregon, a nonprofit involved thousands of ordinary citizens in in-depth conversations about how to best use limited health care funds; the result was a mandate by the state legislature to use such community meetings to guide state health care decisions. • In Toronto, Canada, a group of a dozen people widely divergent political views created, over the course of one weekend, a consensus vision for improving the nation as a whole—a feat that parliamentary committees, focus groups, and millions of dollars in funds had been unable to achieve. • In Andhra Pradesh, India, twenty farmers participated in a prajateerpu or citizens’ jury, listening to testimony and cross-examining experts (including international government officials) in order to present the World Bank with practical proposals for managing the state’s agriculture systems. Ideal for community organizers, nonprofit workers, policymakers, and elected officials, The Tao of Democracy illuminates new forms of collective citizenship that can help us achieve creative consensus without compromise, addressing the diversity and complexity of our society while preserving and utilizing our precious individuality. “Tom Atlee paints a vision not of some distant, ideal democracy but of here-and-now practices showing us what’s possible in our immediate future. An important gift for our small, challenged planet!”—Frances Moore Lappé, author of Diet for a Small Planet and EcoMind TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction Section I: An Overview of Co-Intelligence 1. What Is Co-Intelligence? 2. Tales and Commentaries 3. Wholeness, Interconnectedness, and Co-Creativity 4. Resonant Intelligence Section II: Making a Whole Difference Together 5. Reaching Beyond Adversarial Activism 6. Collective Intelligence 7. Ways to Have Real Dialogue 8. Other Approaches to Co-Intelligence 9. The List Goes On… Section III: Creating a Wise Democracy 10. Democracy and Wholeness 11. Cooperative and Holistic Politics 12. The Canadian Experiment 13. Citizens Deliberate about Public Issues 14. Citizen Deliberative Councils Section IV: Citizenship toward a Wiser Civilization 15. Citizenship Meets Complexxity 16. More Approaches to Deliberative Democracy 17. The Emerging Culture of Dialogue 18. Consensus: Manipluation or Magic? 19. Co-Intelligent Citizenship and Activism 20. The Tao of Democracy Epilogue What You Can Do Bibliography Index

Using Co-Intelligence to Create a World that Works for All

Lifelong activist Tom Atlee proposes innovative ways to distill the wisdom of ordinary people in order to better guide public policy. In Empowering Public Wisdom, Atlee recognizes currently popular forms of progressive democracy advocates, such as citizen participation and voter education, but suggests that what is really needed is a re-thinking of the very concept of democracy; Atlee advocates the use of "public wisdom," a collective intelligence that can be drawn upon to guide public policy and action. Reaching beyond partisan politics, Atlee explores how a diversity of views can be engaged around public issues in ways that generate a coherent, shared "voice of the people" that takes most or all of the population's perspectives and needs into account. Atlee's core approach is through "citizen deliberative councils," in which a small group of people randomly selected creates a "mini-public" or a microcosm of the larger population. Citizen councils engage in the study of a public issue and make recommendations to public officials and the community, but disband afterward; when a new issue arises, a new council is formed. Ultimately, Atlee aims even higher, suggesting a possible fourth branch of government to better balance our current democratic system. Combining a radical vision with practical solutions, Empowering Public Wisdom provides a unique and refreshing voice in the political arena. Empowering Public Wisdom is part of the EVOLVER EDITIONS Manifesto Series.

Tom Atlee

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