PRAISE FOR EMPOWERING PUBLIC WISDOM

No problem facing our society is too great if we can learn to deliberate and act together as We the People.  In this practical and visionary book, filled with concrete examples of what works, Tom Atlee shows us how we can harness our collective wisdom to discern the way forward in these complex and challenging times.  Inspiring and highly recommended!  — William Ury, co-author, Getting to Yes and author, The Third Side

Democracy can’t work if it’s reduced to divisive battles, slogans, and attack ads, mainly driven by big money. But we know what does work: Vast evidence now shows that we citizens, in all our diversity, can think together wisely and work together productively. Atlee helps us envision, in amazing detail, how we can shape democracy we believe in because we’re creating together.  — Frances Moore Lappé, author of Diet for a Small Planet and EcoMind

At last someone has described the conditions under which ordinary people can generate real public wisdom.  The implications for democracy – especially for democratic handling of our most troubling, complex, and urgent issues – are profound.  I urge activists, academics, public officials, and every concerned citizen to heed the call in this book.  — Richard Sclove, author of Democracy and Technology

Tom Atlee reports how citizen deliberative councils can enable ‘we the people’ to speak with collective wisdom on public issues. He also suggests new forms that can embed this wise public voice in real-world democratic governance – a wise and important development for the democracy movement. — Hawaii State Senator Les Ihara, Jr., Senate Majority Policy Leader

In this book, Tom Atlee highlights the seldom noted potential of dialogue and deliberation to generate true public wisdom.  He explores how to increase that potential, how to embed it in our democracy, and how to empower it to make a real difference — an important contribution to our field and our political culture. — Sandy Heierbacher, Director, National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation

Atlee’s Empowering Public Wisdom serves up a juicy antidote to today’s increasingly intractable issues, political gridlock, and public disengagement. Having used many of the practices Atlee outlines, I can attest to the viability and vitality of the vision he paints and the approaches he proposes on behalf of us all.  — Peggy Holman, consultant and author, Engaging Emergence: Turning Upheaval into Opportunity and co-author, The Change Handbook

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