Millions of people passionately desire a viable alternative to austerity, authoritarianism and fear. They reject both corporate capitalism and an elite political system over which they have no control, but they are sceptical of the traditional weapons of the left: seizing state power and devising top-down solutions. They are inventing a new politics based on principles of participatory democracy, cooperation and self-government.
In this urgent and original polemic, activist and academic Hilary Wainwright shows that this new politics must start from sharing the tacit knowledge and creativity of each individual.
Power should not be exercised as domination, the imposition of paternalistic rule by well-meaning experts, but as a collaborative exercise in nurturing and asserting the transformative capacity of the many.
Hilary Wainwright is an academic and radical activist who co-edits the magazine Red Pepper and is a fellow of the Transnational Institute (TNI).
This event is part of the STEPS Centre’s Transformations series.