My Current Book Project

JANUARY 2012 UPDATE: Thanks to so many of you who supported this project! Your crowd-funding allowed me to focus almost exclusively on research and writing well into last fall. That my work on the book coincided with the new national conversation sparked the Occupy movement was, in my view, a good omen for change to come. The alignment of subjects was, and is, serendipitous.

My expectation is that “Democracil: The Prescription for America” will be complete and ready for distribution by late March or so. As promised, the e-book will be free to download and share (widely!), and an inexpensive paperback will be available as well.Thanks once again for the support and the ongoing exchange of ideas that has been so valuable to this effort. — Bill

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Friends,

This year I’m working like (reason gone) mad to complete — and then distribute for free — an important (and, of course, funny) book that weaves together many of the ideas I’ve written about for years, including:

  • The urgent need for broad, meaningful democracy reform that finally puts “representative” into “representative democracy.” This includes universal voter registration, an Election Day holiday, a national popular vote for president, full public financing of elections – and many other long-overdue system upgrades.
  • Economics that moves beyond corporate globalization, overconsumption, and growth-at-any-cost to proven, sustainable models that provide real well-being and preserve the natural environment.
  • Why substantially limiting the rights – and increasing the responsibilities – of large business corporations is among our most urgent priorities.
  • How and why nonviolent strategies are truly “a force more powerful” to bring about social and political change here and abroad — and the ones most in alignment with democratic ideals.

(I’ve never been accused of ignoring the big issues…)

The book’s working title is “Democracil: The Prescription for America”. Its central thesis? That unless we repair our basic system of politics and governance, it will be near impossible to successfully address our rapidly mounting economic and environmental problems. For a host of reasons, power is simply no longer available to the people and the public interest. There are ever-fewer levers to push against to bring about urgent change.

“Democracil” will be available as a free ebook (for Kindle, Nook, as a PDF, on the Web, etc.) and as an inexpensive print-on-demand paperback available via Amazon, Barnesandnoble.com, and through many other retailers. This way, the book can be published soon and reach a very broad audience.

In the model of Spot.us, which “crowd-funds” investigative journalism, and Kickstarter, which does the same for creative projects, I’ve reached out to friends and longtime readers for help financing the writing, editing, and production of of “Democracil.”

I’ve invited folks to contribute $2/month to this six-month-long effort, for a total of $12. At today’s crazy Starbucks prices, that’s only half a cup of coffee per month! Or, perhaps because you don’t drink coffee, consider throwing in a bit more.

Funds raised will cover expenses while working on the book, including copy editing and self-publishing fees, and help underwrite distribution efforts. Your small bit of support – combined with that of many other folks – will help make this possible.

Thanks for your help with this experiment in community-supported writing and activism. I hope you’ll share information about this project widely.

Best,
Bill

P.S. All project supporters will be identified in the book’s “Acknowledgements,” unless you would prefer not to, Bartleby (the Scrivener).