Democracys Edge: Choosing to Save Our Country by Bringing Democracy to Life

"To save the democracy we thought we had, we must take it to where it′s never been." — Frances Moore Lappé "Poetic and passionate...A small number of people in every generation are forerunners, in thought, action, spirit, who swerve past the barriers of greed and power to hold a torch high for the rest of us. Lappé is one of those." — Howard Zinn , author, A People′s History of the United States "Please, please, please make this audacious book a priority, for it is written with the most careful and tender feelings about what we are all so near to losing—our democracy." — Dame Anita Roddick , founder, The Body Shop "America is lost in a gnarled thicket of bought politicos, corporate con men, and media hucksters. Lappé has drawn the map that will get us out alive." — Greg Palast , author, The Best Democracy Money Can Buy "With the clear thinking, plain talk, and penetrating insight that we have come to expect from her work, Lappé confronts fundamental problems directly and constructively." — Noam Chomsky "Lappé is a pioneer in democratic thought and action." — Cornel West , University Professor of Religion, Princeton University "Extraordinary. A provocative and exciting new approach to reviving democracy." — Amy Domini , founder and CEO, Domini Social Investments " Democracy′s Edge is an exciting and hopeful account of the rebirth of a living American democracy as people connect with each other around the country to solve problems and build a better society." — Jim Wallis , author, God′s Politics , and convener and editor, Call to Renewal

Acknowledgments ix The Path xi PART ONE Living on Democracy′s Edge 1 Our journey to the edge and the forces making possible an invisible revolution of hope 1. The Frame 3 2. The Long Arc 13 3. Power Is Not a Four–Letter Word 29 PART TWO Democracy Growing Up 49 Outgrowing four beliefs that stymie us and discovering that power, even corporate power, isn’t so stuck after all 4. Our Coat 51 5. The Elephant 77 PART THREE Democracy as a Verb 109 It′s not what we have, it’s what we do. Americans seize the rewards of self–direction 6. Attention 111 7. Action 151 8. Choice 183 9. Voice 219 PART FOUR Democracy in Our Bones 249 Americans create a culture of empowered, connected people 10. Learning 251 11. Security 277 12. The Invitation 309 Two Frames for Democracy 319 Toward a Language of Democracy 321 Notes 325 Entry Points for Living Democracy 405 The Author 451 Index 453

Frances Moore Lappé , author of fifteen books, has received seventeen honorary doctorates and was the fourth American to receive the Right Livelihood Award, called the Alternative Nobel Prize. She is cofounder of Food First, the American News Service, and the Small Planet Institute, www.smallplanetinstitute.org.