Synopses & Reviews
Harry Boyte and the Center for Democracy and Citizenship have without doubt exercised the premier intellectual leadership role in the movement for civic renewal in the U.S. over the past decade. In Everyday Politics, Boyte describes their approach. --Carmen Sirianni, coauthor, Civic Innovation in America As Mark Twain said about the weather, everybody talks about the need for a new politics of participation and deliberation, but nobody does anything about it. Harry Boyte has. Through a combination of experience, political analysis, and philosophy, he shows us how 'everyday politics' can actually improve people's lives. --Jennifer Hochschild, Professor of African American Studies and Political Science, Harvard University, and editor of Perspectives on Politics Boyte's novel take on the burgeoning efforts to renew civic life is a must-read for scholars and community-based practitioners alike who are recreating work-centered commonwealth traditions in an information age. --David Mathews, President, Kettering Foundation
Synopsis
Former advisor to President Clinton and Field Secretary for Martin Luther King's Southern Christian Leadership Council examines concrete ways that citizens can be involved in transforming American democratic society.
Synopsis
Increasingly a spectator sport, electoral politics have become bitterly polarized by professional consultants and lobbyists and have been boiled down to the distributive mantra of who gets what. In Everyday Politics, Harry Boyte transcends partisan politics to offer an alternative. He demonstrates how community-rooted activities reconnect citizens to engaged, responsible public life, and not just on election day but throughout the year. Boyte demonstrates that this type of activism has a rich history and strong philosophical foundation. It rests on the stubborn faith that the talents and insights of ordinary citizens--from nursery school to nursing home--are crucial elements in public life.
Drawing on concrete examples of successful public work projects accomplished by diverse groups of people across the nation, Boyte demonstrates how citizens can master essential political skills, such as understanding issues in public terms, mapping complex issues of institutional power to create alliances, raising funds, communicating, and negotiating across lines of difference. He describes how these skills can be used to address the larger challenges of our time, thereby advancing a renewed vision of democratic society and freedom in the twenty-first century.