Empowering Public Wisdom: A Practical Vision of Citizen-Led Politics (Manifesto Series)

I have been passionate about the possibility of an empowered deliberative democracy since 1996, when I first encountered James Fishkin's idea of using a "deliberative opinion poll" as an accountability scorecard for our representatives.Tom Atlee's manifesto and resource guide is the single most comprehensive statement that I've read to date on what is possible. It is a blueprint for a reinvigorated Transpartisan Movement that could finally deliver power to the people.The "power with" that Tom elucidates is a power born of collective wisdom (and collective compassion). Only in fully encountering our diversity, with an open attitude of listening and learning from those with whom we disagree, can we rise above our bitterly divisive partisanship and find solutions that honor the full spectrum of values that we collectively hold. Individualism and communitarianism are not necessary enemies, and it is not only possible, but necessary to honor and balance both.The wisdom that informs Tom Atlee (and that lends credibility to his discussion of public wisdom) is rich indeed. The breadth of the bibliography is illustrative -- in addition to many of the major thought leaders who are focused on deliberative democracy, he also draws from important thought leaders in organizational development and evolutionary spirituality.Tom's annotated list of "powerful participatory processes" is the most comprehensive list that I'm aware of. I'll be referencing that appendix, and reading the books that I've not yet engaged, for years to come, as I try to do my own bit to assist the Transpartisan Movement.For anyone who believes as I do, and as Tom clearly does, in the possibility of empowering the informed and transformed will of the people, Empowering Public Wisdom is both an inspiration and an indispensable resource.

What might society look like, if real co-creativity were applied to our public self-governance? Of course, none of us can become experts on everything, nor do we have the time to do so... yet as Tom Atlee's carefully detailed book points out, with citizen reflective councils, we don't have to. Just as our current legal system allows people to be judged by a "jury of their peers", citizen reflective councils allow random microcosms of the whole, to explore and discover the "common good" with regard to particular policy issues. This book details a powerful homeopathic approach for curing our social ills -- and like homeopathy, it is much less expensive, less resource-intensive, and with vastly fewer side effects than many allopathic approaches. And also like homeopathy, Atlee's vision may requires a paradigm shift in our understanding of causation. For some of us, "raising the quality of our public conversations"may not seem like much; others may understand how powerful an intervention it can be. What we make of this visionary book may also depend on our views regarding the potential inherent in ordinary human beings to rise up to the occasion when provided with the opportunity to do so, as well as our awareness of the power of certain kinds of collective spaces to bring out the best in us.

This is my 'go to' reference for examples and explanations of how government could be lead by wise citizen assemblies, deliberative councils, workshops, juries and panels. It's quite USA centric in his perspective and references, but many of the examples are international, and the concepts, techniques and approaches he describes are universal.Meeting facilitators and stakeholder engagement consultants who work in government need to read this book cover-to-cover, twice!

This book really supports the concept of the wisdom of the group. I am a big supporter of collaborative decision-making and democracy. This book strongly supports these concepts.

This book is a significant offering to those of us who can see, feel and taste the possibilities amidst the gridlocked dissonance within the current political and policy climate in the U.S. Tom Atlee shares with us the importance,urgency and challenges of creating a democracy based on the common-sense and wisdom of the public, and provides a map for making it happen. We need elegant, intelligent, thoughtful deliberation that evokes the wisdom of the whole on behalf of the whole. This book includes inspiring examples of how and where it is already happening, and how we can take democracy in America to the next level of effectiveness. I love this book and truly appreciate Tom Atlee's brilliant vision. Empowering Public Wisdom: A Practical Vision of Citizen-Led Politics (Manifesto Series)