Authors Danielle Chynoweth and Elizabeth Adams join Norman Stockwell to talk about their new book Remaking Democracy: How We Make the Worlds We Want. Designed as a toolkit to facilitate social change, the book is embedded with the idea that no person is dispensable, and everyone is instrumental in creating the world they want. The authors ask the reader to imagine the world they want to live in, avoiding the temptation to idolize moments in the past that created the conditions that led to the present moment. Chynoweth defines alienation as finding yourself in an environment where you didn’t make any of the decisions about the nature of that environment, and taking initiative to create social change gives power to important efforts fueling the betterment of the world.
When constructing a social movement, Remaking Democracy describes the theory behind each strategy mentioned, gives practical and actionable steps to take, and presents case studies to analyze the methods used by previous social movements. Although you can read the book cover to cover, the book is written as a guide to peruse and return to as you discover additional needs or interests. The authors urge people to remain steadfast in their goals, avoiding the temptation to give in to the biggest or worst stories which often get the most attention. The authors also emphasize the importance of people coming together in large numbers to contribute to the same goal, even if that means working with people who disagree with you in service to the larger good.
