University of Toronto Press

Democracy's Second Act - Peter MacLeod, Richard Johnson

Democracy isn’t broken – it’s stuck. Around the world, people are growing angry and polarized – not because they’ve stopped caring, but because democracy has stopped evolving. The result isn’t apathy – it is a rising sense of political futility. In Democracy’s Second Act, Peter MacLeod and Richard Johnson argue that the first act of democracy – anchored in voting rights and representative government – achieved extraordinary gains. Free elections, near-universal suffrage, and the peaceful transfer of power reshaped societies and expanded human freedom. But these achievements represent the promise of democracy, not its completion. Their book offers a hopeful, clear-eyed vision for what comes next. Drawing on groundbreaking citizens’ assemblies in Ireland, Canada, and France – as well as democratic innovations from more than a dozen countries – MacLeod and Johnson show how we can build on the legacy of the first act by creating new institutions that tap into the talents, judgement, and capabilities of ordinary people. They make the case that the public isn’t a risk to be managed, but a powerful resource ready to be harnessed and that the future depends on giving citizens real responsibility, not just a periodic vote. Smart, story-driven, and deeply grounded in political theory and practice, Democracy’s Second Act is for changemakers ready to move beyond cynicism and rebuild democracy for a new era.

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