
The Mechanics of Changing the World
Political Architecture to Roll Back State & Corporate Power
John MacGregor(Author)
Worldwork Press
Published on 10. August 2024
Book
Paperback/Softback
676 pages
978-0-6459483-0-1 (ISBN)
Description
'I have nominated this book as my Book of the Year. I read over 30 books a year in the course of my work, so this it is in a good field.'Prof Guy Standing, author of The Precariat
'A formidable effort... It has family resemblances to The Dawn of Everything by David Graeber and David Wengrow, Yuval Noah Harari's three volumes, and books by Steven Pinker and Jared Diamond.'Barry Jones, global best-selling author, former Minister for Science & president of the Australian Labor Party
The Mechanics of Changing the World argues that war, tax havens and environmental overshoot are insoluble within the current political framework. That present-day politics is a 'displacement activity'-a substitute for the one thing that can end our crises: to rewrite the political system that generates them.
This 'third draft' of the democratic ideal flows from the Athenian and Euro-American 'drafts': rewiring democracy, institution by institution, to match it to all we've learned about human nature since 1789.
The last half-century has seen the antiwar movement, perestroika, Tiananmen, Occupy and the Arab Spring. Strong ideals, and strong popular support-yet none built anything lasting.
One-off campaigns are fragile. Changing the world needs more than inspired troubleshooting: it needs architecture.
More details
Language
English
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 39 mm
Weight
1080 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-6459483-0-1 (9780645948301)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
John Macgregor worked in federal politics, won national awards for literature & investigative journalism, managed aid projects in Cambodia, & wrote the story development for the movie 'Shine'. From Washington, Rangoon & occupied East Timor, he has reported on science, politics, corruption & modern slavery, for such outlets as New Scientist, The Sydney Morning Herald & The New York Times. He completed The Mechanics of Changing the World in 2024.