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It’s democracy, stupid

an agenda for self-government

Tom Bentley
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Summary

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.

Real politics - the power, ideas and influence of ordinary people - is the
only route to real change. This politics is thriving in our homes, work places,
communities, social movements, businesses and civil society.

We need a new era of grown-up government, which treats people as


intelligent adults and expects them to do the same. It must distribute power
with responsibility. This is the only way to deliver a new political agenda
based on well-being and quality of life.

Such an agenda implies radical restructuring of the state and public


institutions. A combination of institutional inertia, short-term overload and
political aversion to risk mean that politicians have so far only tweaked at
the edges of the transformation we need.

Better health, education and iobs, a higher quality of life and genuine social
inclusion can only be changed by persuading people to change the way they
behave - government cannot deliver on behalf of the people.

This means forging new systems of cooperation, innovation and learning in


every sector. Democracy in practice must mean the chance to shape our own
lives, through systems which allow us to meet collective goals in a more
diverse, fluid and individualised society.

The avenues for progress towards this goal are clear. But they depend as
much on practical innovation in every sphere as they do on analysis and
communication.

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> Labour’s first term of government has, by most conventional measures,
been a success. So why is it politics still surrounded by anxiety and disap-
pointment? Why, even for those who are succeeding, does society still
seem to fraying at the edges? In short, why do we feel so bad?

The reason is that the model of politics we have inherited is not up to the
job. It traps citizens and representatives into outdated roles, and it forces
politicians into making promises they struggle to deliver. While it may
improve its own effectiveness at the margins, politics as a set of institu-
tions, cannot provide the transformation which politicians now feel com-
pelled to offer.

It’s time for politics to grow up. After a century where politics has been
marked by the struggle to gain democratic rights and freedoms for indi-
viduals, a new challenge is taking shape. The challenge is to make demo-
cratic participation mean something. We need government which treats
people as grown ups and asks them to do the same.

This means a new political agenda. Not just electing a different party or a
different set of leaders, but going much further. It means wholesale reor-
ganisation of the institutions through which we interact with each other
and make decisions. It means redistributing power away from centralised
organisations and small elites. It means equipping people in practice with
the responsibilities and the tools to shape their own lives.

Disengagement is the problem


The clearest illustration of the problem is the steady decline, across the
industrialised world, of people’s engagement with formal politics. In eigh-
teen of the world’s twenty most industrialised countries election turnout
has declined since the 1950s, on average by 10 per cent. At the same time,
and with the same consistency, people have become far less likely to iden-
tify strongly with a political party.

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In the UK, we are entering an election period in which most agree there is And while formal politics - the worlds of legislation, candidates and gov-
only one plausible outcome. But despite Labour’s dominance, and despite ernment departments - may be struggling to deliver, political conflict is
the wave of energy and enthusiasm which accompanied their election in thriving in many other locations. From ethical consumerism to anti-cap-
1997, confidence in politicians and political institutions continues to italism, family-friendly campaigns to fuel protests, new forms of politics
wane. More people voted in last year’s Big Brother TV polls than in the have asserted themselves in every sphere of life. Politics now takes place
Scottish, Welsh or European elections. in kitchens and classrooms, on street corners and in the media. Corporate
boardrooms host discussions of environmental responsibility, and volun-
The greatest challenge is now the divide between people and the political tary organisations claim democratic legitimacy. The evidence is that we
class. The sense of disconnection and disempowerment that many people want to believe in politics, but cannot bring ourselves to accept what politi-
feel matters more than the divisions between left and right, and helps to cians tell us.
explain the strength of reaction to apparent abuses of power or position.
Just as politics, understood as a separate industry, a realm in which power
But there is also a deeper, underlying challenge. The world is changing in is won by competing for the levers of control over other sectors, is losing
ways which require political responses and solutions. But the same its grip over what happens in the rest of society, so politics is reappearing
changes are also helping to blunt the tools and mechanisms on which in every other sphere. In all these places, and more, a search is going on
governments rely to do their job. The challenge of a new politics is not for new ways to reconcile the competing pressures of modern life, to allo-
just to provide a language which can capture people’s values and aspira- cate resources fairly, and to realise deeply held values.
tions and clarify the issues of the day. The real challenge is to connect
those emerging values and priorities with systems of organisation which Despite the decline in people’s willingness to vote, or to identify with a par-
can make a difference to people’s daily lives. ticular party, there is no reported decline in their levels of political inter-
est, or in how often they discuss political issues. And there are other ways
Is politics over? of having an impact. The UKs leading eleven environmental organisations
Some argue that, despite the hype, politics has less to do now, and this boast 5.4 million members between them. A recent survey in 25 countries
explains its decreasing relevance. According to this view, the triumph of found that one in five consumers reported actively rewarding or punish-
market liberalism, combined with rising living standards, has ended the ing a company for its perceived social performance. Protest and alternative
great ideological conflicts and made politics a question of administrative living movements are growing strongly, fuelled by the new forms of
efficiency and managerial competence. People are left free to get on with organisation made possible by networked computer technologies.
what really interests them, while party-based cliques compete for the
chance to exercise what little power is left. The problem is not a lack of political issues. The problem, in a sense is
that there are too many. As societies have become more diverse, more
But this thesis is not borne out by reality. Despite wealth, peace, freedom complex and more open, the range of issues and social groupings has
and technological progress, advanced industrial societies face a degree of become far harder to corral into coherent policy platforms or voter coali-
social fragmentation, environmental threat, economic uncertainty and tions. And as the channels through which people can effect change mul-
cultural drift which undermines their ability to face the future with con- tiply, it becomes harder to convince them that they should respect the
fidence. From global warming to personal privacy, genetic discrimination options offered by formal politics. An increasingly heterogeneous politics
to financial instability, population movement to ageing societies, the is ill-served by a three or four party system.
twenty-first century presents a set of challenges which will only be met
through politics in some form. The triumph of markets may have given The new political agenda
business influence over more of our lives, but it has not eradicated the As values and culture change over time, the goals of politics must also
need for political action, even where it has changed the way in which the change. While many still aspire to basic security and opportunity - secure
issues are framed. homes. sustainable income and the chance to raise families - a new set of
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priorities is also emerging. Quality of life is becoming the new goal - the This means a new understanding of change -what drives it, how it can be
liveability of cities, a new balance between work and life, a radical shift shaped, and where power lies in contemporary society.
towards environmental sustainability, opportunities for learning and cul-
tural participation which go beyond the mass consumption and enter- Institutions out of place
tainment of the twentieth century. The problem of delivery is not confined to government. Institutions in
every sphere are under pressure. Whether businesses, charities, broad-
This agenda is gradually emerging from a broader context of uncertainty casters, professions or corporations, we are surrounded by organisations
and disruption. The bases of wealth and prosperity are shifting, as part of struggling to adapt to a changing environment. This struggle helps to
the long transition towards and economy based on knowledge and ser- explain the pervasive sense of stress and insecurity which affects more
vices. Family structures and relationships are also in flux, and individuals and more of us, especially at work.
value choice and freedom more now than perhaps ever before. In all of
these areas, established routines have been disrupted and destroyed by But the institutions of politics and government, central to maintaining a
technological change, competitive threat, or changing values. sense of order and reconciling competing challenges and demands, face a
particular strain. Expectations continue to rise, driven by politicians’
These new issues are headed towards the mainstream agenda of politics. promises, by the media, and by the growth of a more demanding, con-
Currently they are often treated as questions which can be addressed once sumer-oriented electorate. Governments are trying to meet new, more
the basic questions of jobs, health, education, transport and crime. But complex demands using tools and levers which have changed little in half
the new agenda cannot be separated from these well established prob- a century or more. The organisational systems on which they rely are
lems. In fact, the basics can only be delivered in the context of the new stuck firmly in the past. The creative destruction and renewal ensured by
agenda. market competition in the private sector is not matched by any corre-
sponding impulse in the civil service, the church, local government or
People now seek forms of fulfilment and achievement which reflect their many areas of the voluntary sector. Our schools and universities retain
own sense of self. They can access an unprecedented range of cultures, basic structures which are centuries old.
ideas and lifestyle choices. Politics must go beyond material wealth and
security and help to deliver well-being if it is to sustain its legitimacy and As a result, the potential for progress remains stifled by organisational
contribute to real progress. structures, cultures and history. In too many spheres, change is
approached through cautious incrementalism, building shakily on past
But to do so, our political systems will have to go far beyond what they are structures, rather than transforming and renewing whole systems of
currently capable of achieving. organisation.

Overall, we are seeing a huge increase in the power and value of knowl- The rhetoric of change and modernisation have been adopted by politi-
edge - knowledge used to develop and sell new products and services, to cians across the world. In some cases they have led to concrete progress in
develop more complex medical treatments, to maintain diverse social net- delivering specific objectives. But in general they have not connected
works, to improve individual life-chances through education, to restruc- with a more tangible sense of improvement and progress in people’s lives.
ture firms and global supply chains and to keep records of people’s behav- Surveys show that while many people are optimistic about their own indi-
iour. vidual prospects, they do not expect society in general to improve. Too
often they lack any connection to organisations which can give practical
The difficulty is that this knowledge creates new ethical dilemmas and expression to their wider concerns or aspirations.
political challenges. Creativity - using knowledge in new ways to create
value - is now the key asset that societies possess. For politics to recover, In the UK we have seen a growing mismatch between the command of
creativity must be harnessed to promote quality of life and well-being. media communication shown by the most talented politicians, and the
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halting, uneven progress which they can deliver through the machinery The left has learned lessons from its past failures: above all the need for
of government. The effort to make public services deliver, expressed pri- pragmatism, realism and effective communication. And while it has dom-
marily through targets and central control, is increasingly at odds with inated the landscape of politics, from Britain to North America, Brazil to
the complex, diverse and growing demands which public service organi- Scandinavia, its radical aspirations are streaked through with caution and
sations face. The reliance on targets as a means of control, and on the uncertainty.
media as a source of pressure and transparency, is in danger of
paralysing the public sector’s capacity to innovate and restructure. The problem is that this caution holds back the potential for real, lasting
change. Because in many cases, politicians can only deliver on their
The truth is that public services cannot hope to meet the inevitable promises of better health, education and jobs, a higher quality of life,
growth in demand without more radical change to their basic structure. and genuine social inclusion by being ready to overhaul completely the
But the culture of experimentation, learning and risk-taking required for systems of organisation through which government operates.
this to happen is held back by a combination of institutional inertia,
short-term overload and political aversion to risk. The changing nature of power
Where government and politics in the past have formed the nodal point
Beyond market purism of societies, power and dynamism are now distributed far more widely.
In the last decades of the twentieth century, the great shift which ani- New ways of thinking, working and organising now flow from the com-
mated change and focused political conflict was towards a view of society merce, the media, and from the social sector far more reliably than they
based on markets. Where collectivism had failed, the dynamism and do from the domain of politics and government. Ideas are generated in
diversity of market competition would provide new solutions. Individual practice through entrepreneurship and experimentation, and spread con-
freedom became the paramount ideological value, and the injustice and tagiously through a communications infrastructure driven by a global
inefficiency of government and bureaucracy the chief enemy. revolution in new, networked technologies.

But while the reforms of the 1980s and 1990s cleared away much of the Social and economic change are increasingly driven by international
old order, they failed to provide solutions for the great social challenges forces, and policy problems do not respect national borders.
taking shape. Parts of the neoliberal legacy are now largely accepted by
left and right across the world. But that wave of change failed to influ- The stable social classes and groupings on which government has focused
ence the basic nature, or even the size of government. More important, it its policies are more fluid and harder to communicate with. People are
failed to diminish the underlying importance of the social and the com- less ready to accept institutional authority, less subject to direct control.
munal to achieving and sustaining progress.
In this environment, not surprisingly, power is seen to have shifted to
The story which that era offered, of increasing freedom and prosperity other places. Businesses are held up as the drivers of real change, and
realised through individual competitive effort, ended in failure. The inse- increasingly expected to provide solutions which go beyond their tradi-
curity of a global economy and the distress and anxiety caused by poverty tional role. Individual entrepreneurs and celebrities are revered and
and inequality undermined the optimism and energy which the new media power is equated with other, more tangible forms of control.
right had sparked around the world.
But a network society still needs organising concepts and frameworks for
As a result, today’s politicians are engaged in an attempt to humanise the coordinating collective effort and common resources. The decline of def-
systems which neoliberalism left behind - to ensure fairness and opportu- erence and hierarchy threaten a collapse into formless chaos as much as
nity in market-based societies, and to reduce the damage caused by sys- they promise a new era of democracy and opportunity. The great danger
tematic social exclusion. They are trying to do this without questioning the remains that the political sphere will become narrower in an attempt to
basic structures of market-based competition and economic rationalism. defend its own territory, that politics will become cut off from the cur-
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rents which can renew and sustain its capacity to offer progress. Politics But both of these options ignore the real foundation of the ancient demo-
and politicians have to engage with the very forces which are undermin- cratic ideal: that the goal of democracy is not accountable or responsive
ing their credibility. government by representative leaders, but selfgovernment.

Avoiding this danger, for leaders of all political colours, requires a con- Overcoming a false choice
stant stream of challenging and radical ideas. Governments must be This realisation casts new light on many familiar policy dilemmas.
willing to learn, and to accept vigorous debate as a necessity for identify- Today’s politicians are trapped in a contest between two inherently
ing solutions. But ideas alone are not enough to produce change in prac- limited models of policy delivery. The left offers the promise of strong
tice. Across whole societies, from industry to the media, religion to the public services, developed and managed by a strong political centre, using
family, institutions are failing to keep up with the pace of change in their new technology to customise and individualise the service each citizen
external environment. The ability to connect new ideas and radical aspi- draws upon. This view depends on the effectiveness of the state in a tra-
rations with practical, concrete outcomes calls for far-reaching processes ditional form - and it helps explain current efforts to make public ser-
of learning and transformation in all areas of organisational life. vices subject to performance targets and media-based accountability. In
Britain, New Labour is trying to restore the legitimacy of the state by
It‘s democracy, stupid proving its competence in delivering modest, relevant improvements to
But if politics is to change, we must go beyond just the recognition that the public services people care about.
its old manifestations are dead or dying. While we can criticise those who
use outdated command and control structures in their attempts to The right, meanwhile, continues to offer the chimera of a minimal state,
achieve social progress, there is little point if we cannot suggest any con- with social need met by private action - a combination of market-driven
structive alternative. This points us to one of the most important charac- services and philanthropy, with the rules and basic functions maintained
teristics of politics in the twenty-first century: there are no predeter- by a state which returns the maximum possible wealth to citizens in
mined solutions. reduced taxes. This position depends on the fragile argument that social
need can be met largely through private action, and that markets are so
Political action, for centuries, has been predicated on the idea that a par- responsive and self-regulating that they can eventually find ways of
ticular source of knowledge can provide progress for the whole of society. solving all major social problems.
Whether that source is science, or the market, religion or ideology, poli-
tics has been dominated by narratives in which leaders have attempted to The striking fact is that both models continue with the myth that gov-
govern through certainty, drawing on their own access to privileged ernment can deliver on behalfofthe people it serves. The truth, of course,
knowledge in order to make decisions on behalf of the people. is that politics cannot change society unless it can persuade people to
change the way they themselves behave.
The great shift of contemporary politics is the realisation that there is no
one source of certainty - and that progress in a post-political age depends For example, health and education cannot be improved indefinitely
not primarily on the design or management of institutions, but on the simply by increasing public spending - they depend far more on changes
ways in which they draw on and interact with the people they serve. In in lifestyle which engage the citizen actively in living more healthily and
other words, politics cannot go forward without another wave of democ- making use of learning opportunities. Carbon emissions cannot be
racy. reduced without changing the way we choose to use cars. Jobs cannot be
created without harnessing people’s own enterprise and imagination. The
Democratic progress is conventionally characterised in one of two ways - safety of public spaces depends not just on the level of electronic sur-
making those who govern more subject to those who elect them through veillance or the number of police officers, but also on the flows of people
various channels of accountability, and consulting people more often on a through those spaces, and the ways in which they are prepared to inter-
wider range of decisions, for example through focus groups or the internet. act with each other.
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Increasingly, government can effect real change only by working through There is now a clear agenda, focused on reshaping politics, and connect-
partnerships and networks, and helping to inspire changes in culture, ing people with the support and resources they need to shape their own
rather than simply trying to regulate and control. Many of today’s politi- lives for the better. It rests on seven avenues of progress, which interlink
cians are groping their way towards this realisation, often in response to to provide a path towards sustainable twenty-first century societies in
intractable policy problems. It is crudely expressed in the desire to which well-being is a realistic goal for all.
strengthen people’s responsibility in specific areas like jobseeking and
neighbourhood renewal and the offer of partnership from the state. To > Building new forms of democracy
work, it must go far further than this, defining democracy by the direct A bill of rights and responsibilities could form the foundation of a new,
contributions which free individuals make to solutions which work at active role for the citizen. Compulsory voting would be the universal
mass scale, whole systems involving millions of interactions which obligation towards a healthy politics, combined with more responsive and
nonetheless depend on ethical commitment and personal motivation. participative systems for involving people directly in public decision-
making at every level. Citizens would expect to be called for a form of
In other words, we must now move towards grown-up government - institu- jury service, and given time from other responsibilities to allow for their
tions which respect the intelligence and self-determination of individu- contribution. A right of initiative would create the opportunity for
als, but which expect people to take active responsibility for producing groups of citizens to put items on the national political agenda. New tech-
collective solutions. nologies could be harnessed to create deliberative networks through citi-
zens could debate and decide. New forms of democratic election and
But democracy in its current form can easily be described as part of the involvement would be developed at local and international levels. Votes
problem. For many citizens, the experience of participation is meaning- could be issued at birth, and held in trust by parents until children reach
less, because the act of voting does not result in any real change. Our voting age.
models of representative government reinforce political competition at
national level, when many of the most significant problems require inter- > Reshaping the state into grown up government
national or local coordination and cooperation. Consultation and polling Such democratisation could not take place without radical reform of the
are often obstacles to progress, discouraging long termism and slowing basic structures of the state. Administrative discretion and decision-
down the process of change. making power would be devolved towards the level of service delivery,
and the central state reshaped into a core of information provision, and
And the alternatives on offer still seem weak and unsustainable. While systems designed to promote innovation, learning and continuous
direct action may produce alternative sources of motivation and generate improvement. New career structures and models of accountability for
media coverage, it does not offer a lasting, positive agenda. Real solutions public servants would reinforce the drive to make real outcomes, not
can only be found if they are built through systems of organisation remote numerical targets, the test of their performance. Responsibility
which can operate in the real world. The retreat into isolation or denial, for solving problems and delivering outcomes would be developed to
whatever its motivation, is not a realistic option for most people. autonomous teams within the public services who would be contracted to
achieve specific goals.
These conclusions lead us to a new political agenda. It is based partly on
the need for leadership in thought - seeking new ways to understand and > Reinvigorating civil society
interpret the world, and to use the power of ideas to shape future alter- The institutions of civil society would become more directly involved in
natives. But it is also based on practice, and on harnessing innovation and producing social outcomes. Service delivery and new organisational
entrepreneurship to create the organisational knowledge we need to models would be pioneered by a far wider range of social organisations
make progress. and entrepreneurs. The media, in its new and old forms, would become
more actively involved in responding to citizens and in providing the
infrastructure for civic participation. Social entrepreneurs would be
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backed by investment and evaluation to create new ways of delivering > Towards environmental sustainability
social outcomes and involving people directly in civic life. Devolution of Governments, firms and NGOs would collaborate to create new standards
power and resources to neighbourhood level would take place at a far of environmental performance, using innovation in every sector to
more radical level than anything yet proposed. The transfer of El00 billion achieve sustainability. The UK would set the goal of recycling 100 per cent
of public assets and revenue streams to community organisations and cit- of household waste within a generation. International markets would be
izens’ groups, over a period of seven years, by starting with E l billion in created in reduction of harmful emissions, while productivity would be
the first year and doubling the amount in each subsequent one, would be defined more and more by improvements in resource efficiency. Tax
one way to achieve such a shift. systems would reflect the hierarchy of environmental impact of different
activities.
* Unleashing a new business agenda
Businesses would be released from the competing pressures of share- * Putting well-being alongside economic growth
holder accountability and social responsibility by reshaping their contri- Governments would prioritise well-being alongside income as a measure
bution to sustainability and quality of life, while freeing them to use of progress. New time rights would enable people to control their own
enterprise in creating wealth. Corporations face many of the same prob- working lives and balance them against other responsibilities. National
lems as governments, in responding to increasing demand, more fluid accounts would measure well-being and fulfilment along with economic
and diverse customer bases, and the need to deliver at mass scale. Their growth. Stress and depression would become the focus of cross-sector
rhetoric of autonomous ‘teamwork’is often contradicted by the reality of public health strategies. A national ‘competence account’ would be estab-
authoritarian management hierarchy. Companies desperately need their lished, to assess the readiness of people and organisations to face the
own forms of democracy and self government to sustain the commit- future with confidence.
ment and contribution of workers and customers. They increasingly rely
on social infrastructure and the overall quality of life to attract and A chance to shape the future
retain the right workforce. The ethical concerns of consumers are begin- In the long run, this means an entirely different political landscape, and
ning to shape the markets in which businesses succeed or fail. A new role a series of profound shifts in the way we understand and relate to politics.
for business could begin with new opportunities for companies to deliver
public and social services, and with a tax regime which taxed companies But perhaps, most important, it means that there is a huge opportunity for
not on profit but on their overall contribution: to sustainability, learning politics to be reshaped by people and organisations which are prepared to
and skills, and social inclusion. New cooperative institutions would test out in practice their responses to the issues which matter most.
enable businesses to collaborate, for example in specifying and delivering
training and skills development. The forms of practice and innovation which can develop this agenda are
already distributed across our societies. The challenge is to learn from
* Education for creativity them and shape them into new systems of self-government. We will need
Education systems would be radically restructured to provide every child new examples of leadership, and new forms of ownership and organisa-
with a sound foundation for lifelong learning, and all adults with tion, in order to meet it.
ongoing opportunities to learn. Curricula would emphasise creativity and
life skills alongside formal disciplinary knowledge, and a far wider range With them we can reshape the space in which public business is done, to
of organisations would provide learning opportunities. Schools would be create not just a new list of political issues, but also a new set of tools
open 24 hours, and investment would focus more on the under fives, with which to resolve them.
where it makes most difference. Public investment in education would
double over a decade. This is the true challenge for politics in the twenty-first century. It must
create a new language which can capture and mobilise the aspirations of
diverse, fluid societies, but it must also shape the wholesale transforma-
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tion of the organisations through which we interact with others, access
resources, channel our energies and create wealth and knowledge.

Achieving this kind of progress will be difficult in the extreme. It is a


paradox that living in an age of unprecedented knowledge, with the tools
and power to accomplish tasks unimagined by past generations, makes
life more complex and daunting. Determining how we handle knowledge;
who owns it: who controls it; who is able to protect knowledge about
themselves is hugely difficult. The moral dilemmas become more
complex, and the range of choices more bewildering, as we learn more
about what we can do.

Resolving these dilemmas will remain the task of politics, because no


other sphere can do the job. The frameworks for making such decisions,
setting rules and solving problems across whole societies, can only come
from institutions which reflect and draw on the diverse resources and
interests of those societies.

And in the long term this definition also helps to show the depth of polit-
ical challenge. The task is to go beyond just humanising the market, just
trying to soften the consequences of capitalism, and instead align the
economy and human needs so that the two work in tandem. Rather than
politics running behind, it must help to shape the future, so that firms
are motivated to train workers, protect the environment and support fam-
ilies; so that innovation and cooperation reinforce each other, and so that
the way people develop and express their own identities also equips them
to contribute to wider social goals.

This is the challenge which Demos is taking on. It has shaped a wave of
change in Britain and beyond, but its long-term agenda remains unful-
filled. It aims to produce the ideas which will shape twenty-first century
politics, and to stimulate practical innovation which can help provide
hard-edged organisational solutions <

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