The goal of democracy is self government. This is the root of the ancient democratic ideal, but it has been lost from the twentieth century western models of politics. Our current political institutions are not up to the job: as a result, politics is disappointing citizens and forcing politicians to make promises they cannot deliver. The disengagement of citizens from formal politics, which is going on across the developed world, illustrates the scale of the problem. But twenty-first century societies are facing a series of challenges which can only be met through political action.

This pamphlet is a call for a new era of grown-up government, which treats people as intelligent adults and expects them to do the same, which must distribute power with responsibility. Tom Bentley argues that is the only way to deliver a new political agenda based on well-being and quality of life.

“They aren’t, but political think tanks should be a place for leftfield thinking about the future. This is one such example of that from 2001. At a time when nobody was interested it located the central problem at the heart of British society disengagement from politicians, political parties and the institutions of democracy. It argued that we need to find new ways to govern ourselves – and presciently argued for a kind of citizen jury service in policy making. The challenge for the left today remains to find a way to make citizenship, democracy and participation work in a globalised, fragmented and increasingly uncertain world. There have to be other ways on offer to ‘take back control’ don’t there.”
— Charlie Tims