Bruce Nixon - The 21st Century Revolution: A Call to Greatness

The 21st
Century
Revolution

A Call to Greatness

Bruce Nixon

Copyright Bruce Nixon, 2015

Published by Acorn Independent Press Ltd, 2015.

The right of Bruce Nixon to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved.

This book is sold subject to the condition it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be circulated in any form or by any means, electronic or otherwise without the publishers prior consent.

Cover photograph reproduced by kind permission of Global Justice Now

Acorn Independent Press

I thank my wife, Suzanne, for supporting and putting up with me whilst I have been writing this book. My friends, John Bell, Val Tomlin and Paul de Hoest, kindly read the first draft of this book and gave me invaluable comments. Over the years, James Robertson has made many contributions to my thinking about global issues and, specifically, on money and taxation. I am grateful to Satish Kumar for his holistic inspiration. Nicklaus Thomas-Symonds gave me insights on statesmanship and how it may emerge. Polly Higgins, Professor Ian Roberts, John Mills of CIVITAS, and friends in the New Economics Foundation, Global Justice Now, Garden Organic, the Soil Association, GM Freeze, Positive Money, Unlock Democracy, the Electoral Reform Society, and the Campaign for Better Transport, have contributed to my understanding of the whole interconnected system and provided solutions.

This is a book jam-packed with solutions hurrah! And, it all starts with the self; great change calls on each of us to step up and respond to the call of greatness. Whether it be changing our politics, our monetary system, our laws, our business ethics at the heart of each resides something truly great. Bruce Nixon brings to life not only what is possible, what is already emerging, and also what could yet come into being.

Polly Higgins, Barrister, International Ecocide law advocate.

This is an amazing book not just because it tells us whats wrong with our society and how to put it right but because it is full of hope and love for people and our planet. The world is a better place for The 21st Century Revolution A Call to Greatness, and its author, Bruce Nixon the book inspires me to help make the 21st century revolution happen.

Neal Lawson, Chair of Compass

A fascinating read and a really good contribution to the debate about the future of democracy.

Katie Ghose, Chief Executive of the Electoral Reform Society.

The greatest problem of our age is disempowerment part of a political project to shift ordinary people out of power and out of politics, to leave them content to judge their identity by the brand of smart phone they rent. Bruce Nixon lays out the fullest dimension of this disempowerment and its fatal consequences. But he also outlines a way out, a way for all of us to become real citizens in a real democracy. The call to greatness not only refers to our own personal liberation from the shackles of disempowerment, but to the scale of the collective endeavour it will allow us to embark on saving our species. It doesnt get much bigger.

Nick Dearden, Director, Global Justice Now

Read this excellent analysis of whats gone wrong, take heart, and fight for positive change!

Yvonne Roberts, Journalist and Fellow of the Young Foundation

Dont despair read this book! We can have a new economic system that works for people and planet, if enough of us meet the current (huge) challenges head-on and summon the greatness that each of us are capable of. Bruce Nixon brilliantly sets out a course of action and hope.

Stewart Wallis, Executive Director, New Economics Foundation

We need to be both planning for a better world and actively setting out a route towards it. That needs the input of the many and the democratic focus of this book is very much welcome, as is its understanding that our economic, social and environmental crises and the solutions to them are interlinked.

Natalie Bennett, Leader, Green Party of England and Wales

Bruce highlights the harmful consequences of our debt-based money system and the need to change the way money is created.

Ben Dyson, Founder of Positive Money

Bruces book is a comprehensive account of the social and political obstacles standing between us and a more sustainable future. In response to that, he proposes a collective approach, and thats absolutely right if we want change, people power is going to be at the heart of it.

Dale Vince, Ecotricity Founder

A Better World is Possible What needs to be done and how we can make it happen

Living System Making sense of sustainability

Global Forces A Guide for Enlightened Leaders

Making a Difference Strategies and Tools for Transforming your Organisation

New Approaches to Management Development

Articles, talks and conference papers: www.brucenixon.com/newwritings.html

Its OK for you. We and our children will have to face your generations irresponsibility way beyond 2050.
A sixth-former

As a parent, grandparent and fellow world citizen, that is my starting point.

We face the greatest challenges in human history. This book is for people all over the world who want to create a happier, fairer, more peaceful world and prevent environmental catastrophe. It is for people who want to be well-informed. The book will help readers make sense of the situation, find solutions, and decide how they want to participate in bringing about the radical changes that are needed. There is a widespread collapse of confidence in current politics and economics. The challenges are enormous, but so are the opportunities. Change is in the wind all over the world. Change springs out of vision and hope. This book will provide both. When great shifts come, they tend to come fast; the old order collapses quickly. Remember the fall of the Berlin Wall.

There is widespread anti-establishment sentiment. The economic policies of the past 35 years are being challenged, especially by younger people; so is the way we have done politics for the past 70 years. Yet radical new policies, large-scale events, and campaigns involving thousands often go unreported in the mainstream media. There is so much positive news the conventional media doesnt give us. That will be remedied in this book.

It is now 23 years since the Kyoto Protocol was adopted in Kyoto, Japan on 11th December 1997. Yet decisive action has not been agreed or taken. The 21st annual session of the International Climate Change Conference is to be held in Paris from the 30th November to 11th December 2015. There must be a breakthrough. Sir David King, UKs Special Representative for Climate Change, whilst hopeful of this session, says climate change is the biggest threat facing mankind at this moment and reaching agreement is more critical to the future of our civilization than 1945, when the UN was created following two World Wars.