Steve McIntosh - Developmental Politics: How America Can Grow Into a Better Version of Itself

Advance Praise for Developmental Politics

Developmental Politics is essential reading for those who are concerned about the dysfunctional condition of Americas democracy. McIntoshs application of integral philosophy to the daunting problem of hyperpolarization shows how we can effectively grow out of our gridlocked politics. I highly recommend this groundbreaking and important book.

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Markets, and coauthor of Conscious Capitalism

Is there a world beyond polarization! Indeed there is. In this inspired and brilliant work Steve McIntosh presents a richly conceived integral agenda and evolutionary strategy for the development of culture and consciousness, one that gives substance and reality to the unread vision of the higher dream for this Earth and time.

Jean Houston, Ph.D., Chancellor of Meridian University and author of many books on human development

Steve McIntosh is an incredibly deep and clear thinker who shows how people with very different worldviews can find a way to communicate, cooperate, and connect. Developmental Politics lays out a step-by-step approach to overcoming the wicked problem of hyper-polarization. This book is just what we need at this troubled time in history.

Tony Schwartz, bestselling author of The Way Were Working Isnt Working and T he Power of Full Engagement, and CEO of The Energy Project

If I could prescribe one book for every Democrat or Progressive candidate and campaign to read (ASAP!), along with every environmental and climate activist and every advocate for racial justice, LGBTQ and gender equality, education reform, and economic equity, it would be Steve McIntoshs Developmental Politics. Its brilliant, well-written, and, I believe, just what the doctor ordered for our ailing body politic.

Brian D. McLaren, author of The Great Spiritual Migration, and A New Kind of Christianity

Steve McIntoshs latest book, Developmental Politics, explores how America can escape political polarization. McIntosh provides an insightful account of the emergence of postmodernism from modernity, showing how culture evolves through the development of values. He persuasively argues that an enlarged understanding of cultural evolution can help us reclaim our collective aspirations for social progress. This important study is a must read!

Michael E. Zimmerman, Ph.D., Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, University of Colorado at Boulder and coauthor of Integral Ecology

This is the right book for whats next in our politics, both nationally and personally. I found McIntoshs description of the practice of values integration to be instantly indispensable. And I loved his description of how a renaissance of virtue is a tonic for the cynicism of our age. Upon finishing Developmental Politics, it was as if I had been ushered into a more virtuous world. Here, to my surprise, I felt humbled and grateful for our unfolding American story, as wild and wooly as it is. After reading this book I can now see exciting possibilities for our next historical chapters. Also unexpectedly, the book has deepened my appreciation for my own story, and for the people and circumstances of my life.

Jeff Salzman, Host of the Daily Evolver Podcast

Everyone feels itour politics are broken and something must be done! But too many approaches to solving political polarization assume the solution. They are good ideas that could only be implemented in a less polarized environment. Developmental Politics cuts the Gordian knot by going right to the heart of this entrenched, complex issueaddressing the cultural battlegrounds that underlie our poisoned politics. McIntoshs timely book presents a powerful way to evolve both our country and ourselves. With a steady stream of clear, unfolding insight, it will make you believe again in the promise of our beautiful, troubled democracy.

Carter Phipps, author of Evolutionaries

The divisiveness of our current politics is not sustainable. A new approach is needed to understand and then reconcile the conflicts we see today. In applying integral theory to this problem, Steve McIntoshs new book, Developmental Politics, offers such an approachone that is fascinating and optimistically energizing.

Alexander McCobin, CEO of Conscious Capitalism, Inc.

Developmental Politics

How America Can Grow Into a Better Version of Itself

Steve McIntosh

Paragon House

First Edition 2020

Published in the United States by

Paragon House

St. Paul, Minnesota

www.paragonhouse.com

Copyright 2020 by Steve McIntosh

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, in any form, without written permission from the publisher, unless by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: McIntosh, Steve, 1960- author.

Title: Developmental politics : how America can grow into a better version

of itself / Steve McIntosh.

Description: First edition. | St. Paul, MN : Paragon House, 2020. |

Includes bibliographical references and index. | Summary: Developmental

Politics describes a new political philosophy of progress that builds on

the integration of traditional values and post-modern values.

Hyper-partisan political polarization is a cultural problem that

requires a cultural solution. This book employs integral theory to

demonstrate a method of values integration through which citizens from

across the political spectrum can reach new levels of consensus and

cooperation using integral consciousness-- Provided by publisher.

Identifiers: LCCN 2019046814 | ISBN 9781557789426 (paperback) | ISBN

9781610831239 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Political culture--United States. | Political

ethics--United States.

Classification: LCC JK1726 .M3995 2020 | DDC 306.20973--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019046814

Dedicated to

my beloved partner

Tehya McIntosh

Contents

Preface

Im a first-generation American. My parents immigrated from England and Australia in the early 1950s because it seemed to them that America was the center of the world, and they wanted to be part of it. So I was taught from a young age to be grateful for my American citizenship and to not lose sight of the importance of this unique nation. Although my patriotism is now more nuanced than that of my parents, who were ardently allegiant to their adopted county, I still care deeply about the fortunes of American democracy.

Although America is plagued with abundant problems and challenges, most of these problems have pragmatic solutions that are within our power to implement. Almost none of these solutions, however, can be realized within our current political environment. Our frustrated, stymied, stalemated, and hyperpolarized political process is stuck in its tracks, and this gridlocked condition is now beginning to cause our social regression. Hyperpolarization is really the mother of all our problems because very few of the serious challenges we face can be adequately addressed until we ameliorate the fractious and frozen state of our body politic.

As we will consider in the pages ahead, hyperpolarization is not a problem that can be solved under our current cultural conditions. The only way to ameliorate this wicked problem is to effectively grow out of it. This book accordingly explores the broadened perspectives and emerging methods that can help American culture evolve into the next phase of its historical development. The good news is that the daunting problem of our dysfunctional democracy is creating the developmental pressure we need to think anew and act anew, as Lincoln famously said. Although further regression is certainly a real possibility, the fractured state of American society also has the potential to catalyze a cultural renewal that can lead to a new era of political cooperation and progress. In other words, the difficult work of overcoming hyperpolarization can actually lead to a renaissance in American culture.