Let’s pick up where we left off a while ago in Richard Swift’s book, The No-Nonsense Guide to Democracy. At the time, we were looking at the gap between the professional political class and the democratic notion of “rule by the people.” The main question we haven’t asked yet, however, is “Who are the people […]

We’ve looked at voter frustration and the structure of our democratic institutions as reasons why people all over the world have lost interest and faith in democracy. So far, many of these ideas have been drawn from the pages of Richard Swift’s book The No-Nonsense Guide to Democracy. “But democracy’s malaise,” Swift says, “goes deeper […]

As promised, we’ve spent the past week working through the six steps toward getting involved in social change that Amanda Sussman lays out in The Art of the Possible. We’ve reviewed one a day, using the Transit City plan as an example issue. If you missed any of the relevant posts, you can review the […]

The sixth and final step toward getting engaged in social change that Amanda Sussman identifies in the first chapter of The Art of the Possible is to get connected. “Get in touch with those working on your issue,” she says, “by setting up one or two informational meetings… to supplement your research and help you […]

The fifth step toward social change that Amanda Sussman identifies in The Art of the Possible is to start putting it all together. “Once you have a clearer idea of what it is you want to work on,” Sussman says, “try to articulate it by pulling your thoughts together on paper under the following headers. […]

We’re halfway through the six steps toward getting started in social change that Amanda Sussman proposes in her book, The Art of the Possible. We’ve chosen an issue – in this case, Transit City, for the sake of working on something current and relevant – and we’ve also identified our own resources and the key […]

It looks like I jumped the gun a little bit with yesterday’s post on the value of making smart decisions about your time and energy, which is the second step toward getting involved in social change that Amanda Sussman identifies in the first chapter of her book, The Art of the Possible. Because the third […]

If you’re just tuning in, I’ve been going over the first chapter of The Art of the Possible by Amanda Sussman, which features six simple steps toward becoming active in social change. The second step, after choosing your issue, is to identify your resources. “How much time and energy am I willing to give?” Sussman […]

The first step toward social change that Amanda Sussman outlines in The Art of the Possible is choosing a meaningful issue – one that’s important enough to you that you’ll be willing to see it through. “If you are looking for a worthwhile way to spend your time,” Sussman says, “but don’t know what that […]