"A formidable effort, very learned and extremely wide-ranging. It has certain 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.
"I've never read anything like it. It explains so much (just about everything, really) about the present sorry state of human affairs. And it has put politics into a manageable perspective for me. I sense, at last, that there is a way out of the straightjacket we have traded our freedom for.
"i am astonished that his conclusions haven't been brought together before this. i am also astonished that the idea of re-designing democracy is never raised."
- Ross Roache
The book argues that war, inequality and environmental breakdown are insoluble within our current system of government. That they will only be curable at the level of causes: the level of democratic design.
One-off campaigns are fragile. Perestroika, Tiananmen, the Arab Spring, Occupy. Great ideals—yet none built anything lasting.
Changing the world needs more than inspired troubleshooting. It needs architecture.
'Third draft democracy' is a suite of interlocking reforms to decontaminate politics, decentralize information and democratize decision-making. It's a natural evolution of the first (Greek) & second (Euro-American) 'drafts' of the democratic experiment.
"Fascinating and inspiring. I agree with the energising and unifying potential of the idea of a new constitution, addressing the problems he so clearly describes. My hope is that someone with the talents of a demagogue or an advertising guru will catch on and help the idea spread."
- Dr David Erdal, evolutionary psychologist
"The book offers great and timely value and I want to see it in as many thoughtful hands as possible. This is such a critical topic and fine piece of work. Unlike the typical online manifesto, full of bold yet incoherent mandates, it clearly defines, contextually situates, supports, and suggests how to operationalize its ideas.
- Major Mark Harris, PhD, knowledge analyst, US Air Force (retired)
In the words of the book's author, John Macgregor:
"We know much more about human nature than we did in 1789. We've learned we're an egalitarian species, and are good at collective decision-making. We hate rigged rules and biased information. We're naturals at social harmony. It's way past time this knowledge was reflected in our national constitutions. Time turns a constitution into a Pandora's box—releasing 'plagues' such as bought politics and captured information. We're forever going after the plagues: our attention should be on the box."
Other books by John Macgregor
After Propinquity, John Macgregor wrote the treatments (pre-scripts) for the Australian movie Shine; was deported from East Timor at gunpoint while reporting on human rights abuses by the Indonesians; interviewed three prime ministers for the major dailies; won Australia's investigative journalism award for exposing an FBI scandal; and reported from Burma on slave labour under the generals for the New York Times.
John Macgregor was raised in Melbourne, and attended Geelong Grammar School. After school he worked as a jackaroo (cowboy) and a truck driver.
In 1986, Macgregor entered Propinquity in the manuscript section of the Adelaide Festival's Biennial Award for Literature, which it won. In addition to $15,000 in prize money, the award mandated publication by Wakefield Press - which was then owned by the South Australian Government. Propinquity was published to very positive reviews - especially for a first novel. But as it was being released the Press was sold to The Adelaide Review, which had no book-publishing experience. Propinquity sat in the warehouse for many months, and missed the sales bandwagon. A year later Macgregor purchased the rights.
After Propinquity, John Macgregor wrote the treatments for the Australian movie Shine, which was nominated for seven Academy Awards. He also did much research for the movie. In 1989 he worked as a political advisor to Senator Janine Haines, federal leader of the Australian Democrats.
Macgregor reported for The Australian on military intimidation of the East Timorese population, on the anniversary of the Dili Massacre in 1995, and was deported by the Indonesian occupiers.
In the 1980s and 1990s he interviewed Australian Prime Ministers Hawke, Keating and Howard in syndicated profiles with the Age, Sydney Morning Herald and other papers.
In 2001 he wrote a series of articles in the Age and Sydney Morning Herald on the framing of former Florida politician Joe Gersten, by the FBI and Australia's Federal Police. The stories helped secure Gersten Australian citizenship - and Macgregor the 2002 George Munster Award, Australia's prize for investigative journalism.
Macgregor went to live in Southeast Asia in 2004. In 2005 his story and photos on slave labour in Burma were published on the front page of the International Herald Tribune (the foreign edition of the New York Times). He wrote and edited for the BBC World Service Trust also taught as a v...
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