Scaling up powerful conversations: Examples, methods, and approaches (Collective Coherence Part Four)
In the first two posts in this “Finding Our Way Together/Collective Coherence” series, I explored innovations in voting and in conversations that …
Journalistic Curiosity and Some New Powers of the Press
Three different journalistic initiatives all involved a whole country witnessing seriously diverse citizens truly hearing each other and connecting across political divides. Only one …
vTaiwan (Part 5) – Lessons for Government-Engaged Popular Deliberation
How could we generate vTaiwan-like citizen- and stakeholder-engaged government elsewhere? In this post I explore the nature of government engagement with participatory …
Is the Public Well-Informed Enough to be Trusted with Democracy?
OZY.com is an interesting news feed that includes occasional provocative questions for their audience under the name “Third Rail”. Recently they asked …
Wise democracy’s most fundamental principle
I devised the idea of wise democracy to help us “evoke and engage the wisdom and resourcefulness of the whole on behalf …
Inclusive networks are shaping our lives right now. Are they governance?
Increasingly, networks that embrace diverse sectors and stakeholders are working together on shared issues and goals at all levels of society. They …
Crazy politics? How much longer will we wait?
The US 2016 electoral season has featured some of the most dysfunctional and dangerous political dynamics we have seen yet – and …
Hey! Let’s bring some sanity to choosing our public servants!
The tragic state of American and other political systems should inspire us to look more carefully at alternative ways to select our …
Using a few million dollars to transform American political culture
What high-leverage initiatives can we imagine that could embed wisdom-producing dialogue and deliberation – among citizens, stakeholders, and/or public officials – deeply …
Life-affirming engagement with the Trump phenomenon
Donald Trump surpasses all other U.S. candidates in raising negative responses – a dynamic which both helps and harms his campaign. His …