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Teardown: Rebuilding Democracy from the Ground Up
A handbook of democratic solutions in troubled times, from the activist the media call a "wizard," a "mastermind," "the ultimate ideas guy," a "mad scientist," a "start-up genius."Our democracy is a trainwreck. Our elections feel hollow and our legislatures have become toxic. Fierce partisanship, centralized power, distorted election results and rigged systems all contribute to our growing cynicism. Voters are increasingly turning towards the angriest candidates, or simply tuning out completely and staying at home. But as Dave Meslin's career has shown, we can fix things. We can turn elite power structures upside down. We can give a voice to ordinary people. But it means fixing things from the bottom up, and starting locally. It's hard to change the world if you can't change a municipal by-law. Teardown shows readers how to do both. And it will show us that these two challenges are not fundamentally different. From environmental activism to public space advocacy to the ongoing campaign for electoral reform, Dave Meslin has been both out on the street in marches and in the back rooms drawing up policy. With Teardown he reminds us that the future of our species doesn't need to look like a trainwreck. That we're capable of so much more. It's time to raise our of the system, of each other and of ourselves. Only then can we re-imagine a new democracy, unrecognizable from today's political mess. This book is a recipe for change. A cure for cynicism. A war on apathy.
367 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 14, 2019
27 people are currently reading
691 people want to read
About the author
Dave Meslin
2 books18 followersDave Meslin is a writer, organizer, builder & convener. He lives in Markdale, Ontario with his partner and two cats.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
February 2, 2020
I appreciate Dave's perspective; he's clearly a smart and committed guy who observes closely the systems and organizations he participates in and comes up with novel solutions. I just wish he'd occasionally run them by someone else, or do a bit of research to see if someone had already tried them and what the results were.
I've worked in municipal, provincial and federal government, and I've also worked as a consultant on behalf of proponents for projects like those he discusses in his book. Sometimes his proposals for how to fix things are good ideas worth trying; sometimes his proposals have already been tried, or are expressly forbidden.
For example, in Chapter 1, The Mechanics of Exclusion, he spends a fair bit of time talking about public notices: those very wordy bits of extremely boring text stuck in the backs of newspapers about upcoming public consultations. His conclusion is that those of us who are putting together public consultations are trying to actively discourage people from attending, or at the very least don't care who shows up, but as far as I can tell he's never talked to those of us who try to organize those things, so he seems entirely ignorant of a key fact: THE TEMPLATES ARE NORMALLY ENSHRINED IN LEGISLATION. If you don't use the template, your public meeting doesn't count towards the public consultation requirement in the law, and your meeting may be disqualified, setting the project back months, not to mention the cost. Depending on the contracts, this may entirely jeopardize the project. I have seen this happen, more than once. Advertising a public meeting in ways other than required by law is very risky, and potentially costly.
For projects or initiatives that are not governed by regulation, sure, proponents and organizers can be more creative with the style and content of the ad, and where and how it is published. And in my experience, they normally are. When I have the option to, as an organizer, I'm doing everything I can to get people to come out: colourful ads in print, online, twitter, FB, Instagram, email, direct invitations to key stakeholders, press releases, everything. Free dinners. Interesting guest speakers. Transportation assistance. Child care, when we have the budget. It is still very difficult to get people to come out, and usually when they do, it's because they hate the proposal in question and are angry about it. (Want to participate in democracy? Show up for public meetings for projects and policies you support. Even one or two advocates at a public meeting can make all the difference in passing and implementing it.)
In Chapter 2, he advocates for government funding to community lobbyists to level the playing field with corporate lobbyists. Again, I've worked for all 3 levels of government, and in the private sector. Do you know how strict the rules are for civil servants for claiming expenses for food? We couldn't even buy donuts or muffins for meetings unless someone were attending the meeting outside of government. They don't like it when we make colour print-outs. The pressures to reduce budgets every year so that legislators/Council/whatever doesn't need to propose any kind of tax increase and can preferably introduce a cut is intense. For the love of god, we've just been through a federal election where a carbon tax that is fully rebated through income tax was a major election issue, almost defeated the government, entirely shut the Liberals out of the prairie provinces and started a half-serious secession campaign! Yet there is no serious discussion of where the money for this or similar proposals is to come from, or how it will ever be sold to voters.
So yes, "government can pay for it"--but if they try, they'll probably lose the next election, and then we get back to the fishtail policies you discussed elsewhere in your book, Mr. Meslin.
He spends a good chunk of the book humanizing both politicians and voters. Politicians aren't just corrupt monsters who want power to make a lot of money and ruin lives, but are generally well-intentioned people who got into politics to make a difference and find themselves trapped in a political system that makes it impossible to be their best selves and rewards terrible behaviour. (I agree.) Voters are thoughtful people who have different opinions and who are capable of coming up with novel, consensus-based approaches to solving problems when given the chance. (Agree here too, with minor exceptions.) But this generosity of spirit is entirely lacking when he discusses the motivations and interests of civil servants and bureaucrats.
His comments on Get Out the Vote campaigns largely made no sense to me: it's a demonstrated fact that often elections reflect not the preferences of the entire population in a voting district, but simply of those who made it to the polls, who tend to be older, whiter, male-r, wealthier and more conservative. Of course left-wing parties are going to focus their efforts on encouraging their own supporters to actually vote.
Much of the book I appreciated; a highlight for me was Chapter 10, End of Heroes. He's right: our focus on hero-based politics and activism, the focus of a solitary actor, is both objectively wrong and destructive. Movements are never the result of one person, they are always based on community. We need more community building and more collective vision. Captain Marvel is not a valid theory of change.
For my own reference, here is a short list of "good ideas I want to try in my own paid and activist work":
1. Bringing public consultation to the public, rather than expecting the public to come to us. (I agree, and I've been pushing for this, and I think this year I'm going to get a chance to try it out in a significant way, which is exciting!) (Along those lines, in the work I've been doing for the past few years--for municipal government--we've done our best to create engaging displays and interactive experiences that we bring to community festivals and other popular events, and while we're happy with the results, it doesn't exactly create a revolution in participation or attitudes. Still, yes, it's the right thing to do.)
2. Teaching students about how government works, and in more than a half-credit/half-semester in high school. I've participated in programs for university students in my municipality, and the outcomes are pretty great; but we need to make this more available at a wider variety of ages, and include adults.
3. Remember the importance of Information, Navigation, and Motivation when encouraging citizen participation in government decisions (to which I would add the substantial work that's been done on the inadequacy of the Knowledge Deficit Model, and the importance of connecting to existing values and identifying specific meaningful behaviours to encourage.) Completely agree on the need to support non-charitable advocacy organizations.
~~~~~
If The Return of History: Conflict, Migration, and Geopolitics in the Twenty-First Century proposed that political violence, extremism, populism, refugee crises and xenophobia are on the rise because complacent citizens of liberal democracies would rather shop than vote or (gasp!) get involved in the political process (my review here), then Teardown supposes that apathy is the result of political processes that appear to have been designed to exclude participation, and a deep-seated desire of humans to see leaders as individual heroes, with a set of specific actions governments can take to make citizen participation easier and more meaningful. The one thing they have in common is the idea that individual voters would really rather delegate the world-changing to specific heroic individuals and spend their own time, I don't know, getting manicures or planning a trip to Belize. This is a super depressing take on human nature, and I'm looking forward to Avoiding Politics: How Americans Produce Apathy in Everyday Life's interpretation.
I've worked in municipal, provincial and federal government, and I've also worked as a consultant on behalf of proponents for projects like those he discusses in his book. Sometimes his proposals for how to fix things are good ideas worth trying; sometimes his proposals have already been tried, or are expressly forbidden.
For example, in Chapter 1, The Mechanics of Exclusion, he spends a fair bit of time talking about public notices: those very wordy bits of extremely boring text stuck in the backs of newspapers about upcoming public consultations. His conclusion is that those of us who are putting together public consultations are trying to actively discourage people from attending, or at the very least don't care who shows up, but as far as I can tell he's never talked to those of us who try to organize those things, so he seems entirely ignorant of a key fact: THE TEMPLATES ARE NORMALLY ENSHRINED IN LEGISLATION. If you don't use the template, your public meeting doesn't count towards the public consultation requirement in the law, and your meeting may be disqualified, setting the project back months, not to mention the cost. Depending on the contracts, this may entirely jeopardize the project. I have seen this happen, more than once. Advertising a public meeting in ways other than required by law is very risky, and potentially costly.
For projects or initiatives that are not governed by regulation, sure, proponents and organizers can be more creative with the style and content of the ad, and where and how it is published. And in my experience, they normally are. When I have the option to, as an organizer, I'm doing everything I can to get people to come out: colourful ads in print, online, twitter, FB, Instagram, email, direct invitations to key stakeholders, press releases, everything. Free dinners. Interesting guest speakers. Transportation assistance. Child care, when we have the budget. It is still very difficult to get people to come out, and usually when they do, it's because they hate the proposal in question and are angry about it. (Want to participate in democracy? Show up for public meetings for projects and policies you support. Even one or two advocates at a public meeting can make all the difference in passing and implementing it.)
In Chapter 2, he advocates for government funding to community lobbyists to level the playing field with corporate lobbyists. Again, I've worked for all 3 levels of government, and in the private sector. Do you know how strict the rules are for civil servants for claiming expenses for food? We couldn't even buy donuts or muffins for meetings unless someone were attending the meeting outside of government. They don't like it when we make colour print-outs. The pressures to reduce budgets every year so that legislators/Council/whatever doesn't need to propose any kind of tax increase and can preferably introduce a cut is intense. For the love of god, we've just been through a federal election where a carbon tax that is fully rebated through income tax was a major election issue, almost defeated the government, entirely shut the Liberals out of the prairie provinces and started a half-serious secession campaign! Yet there is no serious discussion of where the money for this or similar proposals is to come from, or how it will ever be sold to voters.
So yes, "government can pay for it"--but if they try, they'll probably lose the next election, and then we get back to the fishtail policies you discussed elsewhere in your book, Mr. Meslin.
He spends a good chunk of the book humanizing both politicians and voters. Politicians aren't just corrupt monsters who want power to make a lot of money and ruin lives, but are generally well-intentioned people who got into politics to make a difference and find themselves trapped in a political system that makes it impossible to be their best selves and rewards terrible behaviour. (I agree.) Voters are thoughtful people who have different opinions and who are capable of coming up with novel, consensus-based approaches to solving problems when given the chance. (Agree here too, with minor exceptions.) But this generosity of spirit is entirely lacking when he discusses the motivations and interests of civil servants and bureaucrats.
His comments on Get Out the Vote campaigns largely made no sense to me: it's a demonstrated fact that often elections reflect not the preferences of the entire population in a voting district, but simply of those who made it to the polls, who tend to be older, whiter, male-r, wealthier and more conservative. Of course left-wing parties are going to focus their efforts on encouraging their own supporters to actually vote.
Much of the book I appreciated; a highlight for me was Chapter 10, End of Heroes. He's right: our focus on hero-based politics and activism, the focus of a solitary actor, is both objectively wrong and destructive. Movements are never the result of one person, they are always based on community. We need more community building and more collective vision. Captain Marvel is not a valid theory of change.
For my own reference, here is a short list of "good ideas I want to try in my own paid and activist work":
1. Bringing public consultation to the public, rather than expecting the public to come to us. (I agree, and I've been pushing for this, and I think this year I'm going to get a chance to try it out in a significant way, which is exciting!) (Along those lines, in the work I've been doing for the past few years--for municipal government--we've done our best to create engaging displays and interactive experiences that we bring to community festivals and other popular events, and while we're happy with the results, it doesn't exactly create a revolution in participation or attitudes. Still, yes, it's the right thing to do.)
2. Teaching students about how government works, and in more than a half-credit/half-semester in high school. I've participated in programs for university students in my municipality, and the outcomes are pretty great; but we need to make this more available at a wider variety of ages, and include adults.
3. Remember the importance of Information, Navigation, and Motivation when encouraging citizen participation in government decisions (to which I would add the substantial work that's been done on the inadequacy of the Knowledge Deficit Model, and the importance of connecting to existing values and identifying specific meaningful behaviours to encourage.) Completely agree on the need to support non-charitable advocacy organizations.
~~~~~
If The Return of History: Conflict, Migration, and Geopolitics in the Twenty-First Century proposed that political violence, extremism, populism, refugee crises and xenophobia are on the rise because complacent citizens of liberal democracies would rather shop than vote or (gasp!) get involved in the political process (my review here), then Teardown supposes that apathy is the result of political processes that appear to have been designed to exclude participation, and a deep-seated desire of humans to see leaders as individual heroes, with a set of specific actions governments can take to make citizen participation easier and more meaningful. The one thing they have in common is the idea that individual voters would really rather delegate the world-changing to specific heroic individuals and spend their own time, I don't know, getting manicures or planning a trip to Belize. This is a super depressing take on human nature, and I'm looking forward to Avoiding Politics: How Americans Produce Apathy in Everyday Life's interpretation.
June 22, 2020
Much of the book felt like lunching with a wildly energetic ideas guy:
Bam bam bam here's 3 ideas I just thought of, wait bam bam bam here's threee more. Here's a story about the time we stopped an environmentally destructive garbage dump in a freakin mine. Bam bam two more ideas that reminded me of. These aren't spontaneous I been doing this for 20 years.
And I enjoyed the experience a great deal. Most of the ideas were intriguing to brilliant. Dave Meslin is brilliant, a creative guy who sees things differently, looks at conventional wisdom and says, "wait a minute. Why?"
But what really brought it together was the conclusion, a day in the life a fictional young woman named Sarah. It brought all the ideas together into a vision of a different kind of society, a truly democratic one. I loved that.
The chapter on nonprofits, where most of my experience has been, was a miss. There was a fairly binary analysis of upstream (systemic) and downstream (fixing problems) work. The reality is, a lot of downstream work has significant upstream components. Despite the tax laws he write about, NGOs find innovative workarounds to work for change. Not that NGOs are perfect or above reproach, but their work and approaches are more complex than the analysis covers here.
On the whole, I loved the optimism, the energy, the sense that a better world is possible and there are tangible things to do to get there.
Bam bam bam here's 3 ideas I just thought of, wait bam bam bam here's threee more. Here's a story about the time we stopped an environmentally destructive garbage dump in a freakin mine. Bam bam two more ideas that reminded me of. These aren't spontaneous I been doing this for 20 years.
And I enjoyed the experience a great deal. Most of the ideas were intriguing to brilliant. Dave Meslin is brilliant, a creative guy who sees things differently, looks at conventional wisdom and says, "wait a minute. Why?"
But what really brought it together was the conclusion, a day in the life a fictional young woman named Sarah. It brought all the ideas together into a vision of a different kind of society, a truly democratic one. I loved that.
The chapter on nonprofits, where most of my experience has been, was a miss. There was a fairly binary analysis of upstream (systemic) and downstream (fixing problems) work. The reality is, a lot of downstream work has significant upstream components. Despite the tax laws he write about, NGOs find innovative workarounds to work for change. Not that NGOs are perfect or above reproach, but their work and approaches are more complex than the analysis covers here.
On the whole, I loved the optimism, the energy, the sense that a better world is possible and there are tangible things to do to get there.
February 22, 2021
Certain kinds of hyperbole bug me, and calling something ordinary 'inspiring' is one of those things that grates my cheese. So when I say that Dave Meslin and this book inspired me, you know that this book is pretty cool.
Meslin argues that much of government has evolved to keep citizens out and encourage apathy, and has perverse incentives for elected officials. He also argues that our systems have trended toward bestowing power on fewer and fewer people (Prime Ministers who rule by edict, rather than rule from a first among equals mindset), and that citizens have encouraged and accepted that. Using municipal, provincial and federal examples, Meslin illustrates these points and makes the case for more participatory and open governing and government.
Meslin spends at least as much time in every chapter discussing solutions as he does identifying problems, and I loved that he modelled his overarching solution: stop apathy! Meslin also highlights other people and organizations out there doing good work.
While all of Meslin's proposed policy solutions don't strike me as 100% practical, I really appreciated that he so thoughtfully engaged with what a better Canadian democracy and engaged citizenry might look like. When the pandemic is over, Meslin has inspired me to start paying closer attention to what my city is consulting citizens on, and start attending meetings about things that matter to me.
(He's also convinced me that billboards are a total blight on society, and that while radio or television ads support content, billboards are a capitalist intrusion. They don't bring in that much money for cities, and just turn citizens into a product for billboard companies to monetize.)
Meslin argues that much of government has evolved to keep citizens out and encourage apathy, and has perverse incentives for elected officials. He also argues that our systems have trended toward bestowing power on fewer and fewer people (Prime Ministers who rule by edict, rather than rule from a first among equals mindset), and that citizens have encouraged and accepted that. Using municipal, provincial and federal examples, Meslin illustrates these points and makes the case for more participatory and open governing and government.
Meslin spends at least as much time in every chapter discussing solutions as he does identifying problems, and I loved that he modelled his overarching solution: stop apathy! Meslin also highlights other people and organizations out there doing good work.
While all of Meslin's proposed policy solutions don't strike me as 100% practical, I really appreciated that he so thoughtfully engaged with what a better Canadian democracy and engaged citizenry might look like. When the pandemic is over, Meslin has inspired me to start paying closer attention to what my city is consulting citizens on, and start attending meetings about things that matter to me.
(He's also convinced me that billboards are a total blight on society, and that while radio or television ads support content, billboards are a capitalist intrusion. They don't bring in that much money for cities, and just turn citizens into a product for billboard companies to monetize.)
June 4, 2020
In this book, Dave Meslin goes over many of the problem facing Canadian democracy, but more importantly, he goes over how to fix them. Its a really interesting look at aspects of our democracy that I hadn't really considered before. Personally, one of the more interesting things that I learned was the details of the inner workings of political parties, and how they stifle expression and individuality. I was also surprised and a little bit appalled by the accounts of our legislatures as battlegrounds where MPs and MLAs fail to even show basic professional respect to one another. The main thing that I really like about this book is that it is solution oriented. For every problem, Dave raises multiple plausible and interesting solutions, which lead to a very optimistic feel for a book about problems. I think that this book only gets more relevant by the day, as people realise the flaws of our system and look for ways to change it. Protests and demonstrations are good, but by changing our systems of government to be more representative and interactive, they will become less necessary because positive change will happen without them. I think that anyone living in Canada (and maybe even outside of it) who cares about the direction our country goes in the future or wants to cause real change should read this book.
August 18, 2019
"A cesspool of offensive, patronizing, Anglo-centric, monocultural, heteronormative, misogynistic, body-shaming consumerist garbage." I do like it when an author is clear about their perspective. Dave makes his perspective crystal clear.
Should democracy be a pervasive value of our society? What would that look like? Practical, realistic, simple, reasonable, joyful. It's hard to imagine reading this book without becoming optimistic.
Exploring the mechanics of voting, participation and motivation, corruption, public space, and streetscape. If feels like the book has a remarkable scope, showing how society can be empowering and inclusive or hijacked. There are many examples of people building democratic culture in simple and powerful ways.
The ideas most likely to be controversial are the ones I think I found more compelling. At the very least the material is thought-provoking.
Overall, I found the book to be very engaging and uplifting.
Should democracy be a pervasive value of our society? What would that look like? Practical, realistic, simple, reasonable, joyful. It's hard to imagine reading this book without becoming optimistic.
Exploring the mechanics of voting, participation and motivation, corruption, public space, and streetscape. If feels like the book has a remarkable scope, showing how society can be empowering and inclusive or hijacked. There are many examples of people building democratic culture in simple and powerful ways.
The ideas most likely to be controversial are the ones I think I found more compelling. At the very least the material is thought-provoking.
Overall, I found the book to be very engaging and uplifting.
June 9, 2019
This book offers real, practical solutions to the apathy and disengagement so many of us feel in regards to our lives, neighbourhoods, and governments. It’s prescriptive, but Meslin somehow manages to get his ideas across (which range on the revolutionary spectrum) in a style that is totally digestible. While he offers a myriad of solutions, his hope is that you pick just one that resonates personally, and act on it. I finished the book feeling that change is possible and empowered to make it, even if in small increments. Highly recommend - especially for young adults and the political establishment.
August 16, 2020
Wow! I absolutely tore through this (by my standards)! It’s so damn good omg. Simultaneously frustrating AF and hopeful AF. Frustrating cause Meslin so effectively articulates a wide range of issues with our modern system of government/citizen engagement w/ government in Canada. But also HOPEFUL because he always provides a range of great, thoughtful solutions and backs them all up with evidence of their effectiveness in other countries/companies/wherever. Truly an incredible book that I’ve been thinking about a ton while reading, and that I will continue to think about for ever (and that I’ll probably come back to at some point, cause it’s so funny and readable... I mean I absolutely tore through it! GAH!)
July 24, 2019
This is ultimately a very positive book about possibility. Many people have tuned out politics because it is so toxic, and government because it is so inaccessible. Mr. Meslin shows us the way to a more collaborative democracy and to a responsive government for all the people. Read this book and follow him OUT of the rabbit hole!
January 22, 2020
Really well done and excellently edited.
I don’t always agree with Dave (although about 95% of the time I do), but he has a singular genius for making me want to help make things better instead of burning it all to the ground. My mood appreciates the positivity. I think these days we can all use some well-directed positivity, frankly.
Highly recommended.
I don’t always agree with Dave (although about 95% of the time I do), but he has a singular genius for making me want to help make things better instead of burning it all to the ground. My mood appreciates the positivity. I think these days we can all use some well-directed positivity, frankly.
Highly recommended.
January 5, 2020
Loved all of this, but especially pages 351-352 where Dave paints the picture of living in an incredibly democratic and connected community. We need more people painting bright pictures of how we can change society and live more meaningful and equitable lives.
November 4, 2019
Full disclosure: I live in Toronto. I have met the author, Dave Meslin, at least once and possibly up to three times. Moreover, I used to volunteer for a group he founded (but no longer ran when I was a volunteer). So that both makes me likely biased in favour of his ideas and part of his ideal audience. The real test of his ideas, I should think, is a reader from a different city in Canada who has never heard of Meslin and who is skeptical of democratic reform. Anyway, I just wanted to mention that.
This is, for the most part, and excellent survey of potential practical democratic reforms for Canada - and, potentially, other countries - which could help fix the various issues with our system (low participation, distrust of politicians, growing inequality, etc). One of the things that is most impressive about this book is how practical every idea is, and how Meslin nearly always has a real world example of a success for the idea. It's the practicality - the potential for real world success - which is most inspiring. Reading his ideas, I think some of them -perhaps many of them - could conceivably be accomplished in my lifetime. Years ago, I wrote a book about changing Canadian government, and Meslin's book makes mine look so impractical it's embarrassing. It's Meslin's multiple decade long interaction with various governments in Canada that makes his ideas so feasible. And these ideas make the book really worth reading.
Where he loses me is when he gets to one of his bete noires, billboards. I get that Meslin is passionate about eliminating corporate advertising from public spaces, but this is not the book for it. The link between eliminating advertising and improving democracy is tenuous - and Meslin doesn't spend a lot of time trying to convince you of the link because he seems to think it's somewhat self-evident - but even if there is a good case for the idea, I don't think it belongs in Chapter 8, before at least one of the more important chapters, the idea that we need to end single-leader politics, as it undermines the flow of the book. (If there is a case to be made, I think it's probably this: Circumstances influence human behaviour. A public space in which only citizens create public art would, in theory, help normalize participation in public spaces which, in theory, could lead those people to want to participate in other aspects of public life. As I said, it's tenuous.) But my bigger problem with the chapter is that he loses me, someone who has met him personally and who already supports at least one of these reforms - and has spent time volunteering to try to get that reform enacted - what is some other Canadian, in a city that is not Toronto, going to think about the billboard chapter? Personally, I think they'll believe he's one of these ridiculous downtown Toronto activists who are left of left and don't understand how things "really work". This chapter reminds me so much of so many activists I've met or listened to or read in my life - they have a hard time distinguishing between the stuff they can sell to those who don't agree with them and those they absolutely cannot sell to those who disagree with them because the idea will get them dismissed. For me, that's what this chapter on billboards is - it's going to strike many Canadians as batshit crazy and it will allow them to write off the entire rest of the book, which would be a huge shame. I sincerely hope I am wrong.
And I hope because otherwise the book is mostly wonderful, and I want to say it's mandatory reading for every Canadian. Because these ideas are not only mostly very good, but they are mostly attainable, if we'd all get off our asses. And I sincerely believe that if our country enacted even a plurality of these reforms - see what I did there? - that we would have a better country, not just for people who live in downtown Toronto, but for every one of us.
So I hope you'll read it. I hope you won't react as negatively as I did to Chapter 8, and I hope you too will become more engaged in trying to make Canada better.
This is, for the most part, and excellent survey of potential practical democratic reforms for Canada - and, potentially, other countries - which could help fix the various issues with our system (low participation, distrust of politicians, growing inequality, etc). One of the things that is most impressive about this book is how practical every idea is, and how Meslin nearly always has a real world example of a success for the idea. It's the practicality - the potential for real world success - which is most inspiring. Reading his ideas, I think some of them -perhaps many of them - could conceivably be accomplished in my lifetime. Years ago, I wrote a book about changing Canadian government, and Meslin's book makes mine look so impractical it's embarrassing. It's Meslin's multiple decade long interaction with various governments in Canada that makes his ideas so feasible. And these ideas make the book really worth reading.
Where he loses me is when he gets to one of his bete noires, billboards. I get that Meslin is passionate about eliminating corporate advertising from public spaces, but this is not the book for it. The link between eliminating advertising and improving democracy is tenuous - and Meslin doesn't spend a lot of time trying to convince you of the link because he seems to think it's somewhat self-evident - but even if there is a good case for the idea, I don't think it belongs in Chapter 8, before at least one of the more important chapters, the idea that we need to end single-leader politics, as it undermines the flow of the book. (If there is a case to be made, I think it's probably this: Circumstances influence human behaviour. A public space in which only citizens create public art would, in theory, help normalize participation in public spaces which, in theory, could lead those people to want to participate in other aspects of public life. As I said, it's tenuous.) But my bigger problem with the chapter is that he loses me, someone who has met him personally and who already supports at least one of these reforms - and has spent time volunteering to try to get that reform enacted - what is some other Canadian, in a city that is not Toronto, going to think about the billboard chapter? Personally, I think they'll believe he's one of these ridiculous downtown Toronto activists who are left of left and don't understand how things "really work". This chapter reminds me so much of so many activists I've met or listened to or read in my life - they have a hard time distinguishing between the stuff they can sell to those who don't agree with them and those they absolutely cannot sell to those who disagree with them because the idea will get them dismissed. For me, that's what this chapter on billboards is - it's going to strike many Canadians as batshit crazy and it will allow them to write off the entire rest of the book, which would be a huge shame. I sincerely hope I am wrong.
And I hope because otherwise the book is mostly wonderful, and I want to say it's mandatory reading for every Canadian. Because these ideas are not only mostly very good, but they are mostly attainable, if we'd all get off our asses. And I sincerely believe that if our country enacted even a plurality of these reforms - see what I did there? - that we would have a better country, not just for people who live in downtown Toronto, but for every one of us.
So I hope you'll read it. I hope you won't react as negatively as I did to Chapter 8, and I hope you too will become more engaged in trying to make Canada better.
January 15, 2022
Although I've studied philosophy and political science for a number of years, this book did not require much prior understanding of Canadian politics. Meslin takes many complicated topics and breaks them down, simplifying them so they're easy to understand, even for many who may have a very limited understanding of politics.
The book describes some things Canada's federal, provincial, and municipal governments could do to educate citizens to better understand our electoral citizens. This, in turn, could lead to more participation in federal, provincial, and then municipal elections. Later chapters go on to break down how we can all do simple things in our communities, workplaces, and even units as small as our families, to encourage more critical thinking skills in children, which would allow them to be more engaged citizens from a young age.
I've been quite involved with volunteer work throughout my life, but after reading this book, I was left with a number of new ideas of how I could effect change at a local level by getting directly involved with all sorts of groups with whom I've never been involved.
This book is truly energizing and left me wishing more people would take the time to learn more about our political system and develop critical thinking skills from the time they were young.
The book describes some things Canada's federal, provincial, and municipal governments could do to educate citizens to better understand our electoral citizens. This, in turn, could lead to more participation in federal, provincial, and then municipal elections. Later chapters go on to break down how we can all do simple things in our communities, workplaces, and even units as small as our families, to encourage more critical thinking skills in children, which would allow them to be more engaged citizens from a young age.
I've been quite involved with volunteer work throughout my life, but after reading this book, I was left with a number of new ideas of how I could effect change at a local level by getting directly involved with all sorts of groups with whom I've never been involved.
This book is truly energizing and left me wishing more people would take the time to learn more about our political system and develop critical thinking skills from the time they were young.
June 18, 2022
The famous Dave Meslin has pulled a magic trick: a book that's fast-paced and entertaining on a subject that goes to the heart of life in Canada: a collection of solutions to getting YOUR voice heard.
It's from Penguin Canada and has now (June 18, 2022) sold 5,000 copies - 2,000 to 3,000 is a successful book in Canada, and 5,000 is commonly considered a bestseller (e.g. by Winnipeg's prestigious Friesen Press). Grab a copy and be inspired!
Dave is a Ted Talk and keynote speaker, and his story-telling skills show here. He's also a very humble but determined guy who attracts admiration. This book doesn't tell the story of his successes and setbacks in getting democratic reform in Ontario, but his passion shines through. Unlike screeds that hack the problems to death, Meslin focuses on the solutions. As Andrew Coyne writes, Dave Meslin is a force of nature who won't stop.
It's from Penguin Canada and has now (June 18, 2022) sold 5,000 copies - 2,000 to 3,000 is a successful book in Canada, and 5,000 is commonly considered a bestseller (e.g. by Winnipeg's prestigious Friesen Press). Grab a copy and be inspired!
Dave is a Ted Talk and keynote speaker, and his story-telling skills show here. He's also a very humble but determined guy who attracts admiration. This book doesn't tell the story of his successes and setbacks in getting democratic reform in Ontario, but his passion shines through. Unlike screeds that hack the problems to death, Meslin focuses on the solutions. As Andrew Coyne writes, Dave Meslin is a force of nature who won't stop.
November 14, 2019
Melsin is clearly an effective and strategic advocate for increasing public participation in all levels of Canadian democratic institutions. His straightforward writing style allows for a clear diagnosis of what drives political disillusionment and his experience informs his analysis as to potential solutions. I feel like I have a greater, relatively non-partisan view of how to get Millenials engaged in politics.
July 3, 2019
The antidote to the hopelessness and cynicism of our age
Mr. Meslin has written an inspiring book about the nature of democracy and civil society, the forces that stand in the way of progress and, crucially, the often simple yet powerful ways we can all act to make it better.
Mr. Meslin has written an inspiring book about the nature of democracy and civil society, the forces that stand in the way of progress and, crucially, the often simple yet powerful ways we can all act to make it better.
October 23, 2019
I would give this book more stars if you had them. I think it should be required reading for every person who didn’t vote in our recent election. And the rest of us would benefit from it too. Here’s to a better democracy tomorrow. Ok, soon. Eventually.
August 11, 2020
3,5
I liked this book. Dave Meslin means well, he knows what he’s talking about and offers some interesting suggestions against the ambient cynicism. The subject is rather dry but the book is not. It’s an easy read enliven by numerous anecdotes, including one concerning billboard which is particularly shocking.
I was surprised to read something positive about Montreal political institutions. The boroughs, each with their townhouse and councillors are often accused of being useless, expensive and of rendering the city unmanageable. But, as he mentioned in his book, in Montreal, the municipal institutions are fairly convivial. As a rule, I’m very satisfied with the services provided, I usually find what I want on its web site. The consultations are numerous; the notices are inviting. We do have participatory budgeting elections. They have billboards in parks describing the different projects. I have been to my borough’s townhouse twice. Each experience was uncomplicated, fairly pleasant even. The first time was to ask for a permit to cut down an infested ash tree. The information provided was clear, I got the subsidy rapidly; city planted a new tree for free. The second time was even more pleasurable since my husband and I got married at the townhouse. Our local councillor, who had just been elected recently, performed the ceremony. She seemed more excited than we were.
The single most important change suggested here is the need for more representative elections with a measure of proportionality at all levels of government. It would give a chance to third parties to share their point of view. Citizens might be more motivated to vote. This major adjustment would require long analysis and discussion to select the best way to achieve it. I also like his suggestions to restore some power to the members of the House of Commons and other political instance and to modify the seating arrangement which is very adversarial. The Quebec National Assembly benefits from a nonpartisan Circle of Women Members intended as a forum to better equip the women to play their roles. They brought a motion against cyberbullying.
I find the idea of having non-elected representative participating in decision-making appealing. It would make the government more broad-based and give introverted, non-charismatic and not beautiful people a chance to voice their opinion.
I also totally agree with Meslin is in the anti-democratic aspects of omnibus bills and the need for a stronger freedom of information program.
I’m undecided about the dress code. I have a certain attachment to decorum, probably because I’m old, but, in the end, I tend to accept more casual clothes. If we want to make room for more diversified and younger politicians, we have to be more flexible. In Quebec, at the National Assembly, one of the deputies has a very controversial wardrobe: Doc Martins, jeans. When she wore hoodie, deputies from the opposing parties, threatened to have her expel. The hoodie was later put up for auction. She raised $5,000 for an organization that protects and house women who have been victims of domestic violence.
Adding more lobbying is a novel idea worth looking into.
I don’t see why sixteen-years-old could not vote—they can drive a car, pay taxes. Knowledge of government’s workings should be taught in school.
The author provides interesting suggestions about non-profit, including that of changing the name for something more meaningful.
I liked but did not love this book. He relies too much on anecdotes. The arguments are rather one-sided and he does not give counterarguments a fair chance. For example, he skims over the risk involved in a proportional election. Also, the author does not offer a useful call to action and talks too much about the American political system. He starts “Teardown…” by making a parallel between the disfranchised from both ends of the American political spectrum and I’m wondering if he could have made similar observations in Canada.
I was so shocked to learn that you cannot read or write in Queen’s Park that I checked if we are allowed in the National Assembly. While cameras and phone are forbidden; books and pens are accepted. However, I don’t believe that changing the physical environment of our assembly halls would necessarily translate in more participation. A person does need faith to take action but faith itself is not sufficient, he or she also requires energy and time. Getting involved is hard work.
Also, I don’t share his fondness for printed material. Not only is it not ecological, and expensive but it gets out of date right away and most people just throw it out.
I have observed first-hand that our voting system is obsolete but it works and is consistent across Canada and across federal, provincial and municipal elections. It does not take as long to vote as Meslin seems to imply. I’m not sure that a digital list would accelerate the process, but love the idea of online voting. I agree with the author that, if we can bank relatively securely, we can vote. So accustomed am I of voting on Monday that I was surprised to learn that the citizenry of other countries rarely vote on weekdays.
He offers diverse and interesting solutions to the financing of political parties. I still think that there should be a cap on political contributions. His suggestion that all contributions remain anonymous is weird. I don’t quite understand how it would function. What stops any contributor to telling a candidate how much he or she gave to his or her campaign?
He’s very harsh towards political parties. I belong to a one and don’t find it soul-crushing. I’m coordinator at the riding level and it’s had work to recruit and motivate members. After an election everybody is bone-tired. We mean to contact members, plan activities, discussion groups, picnic even, but there are very few volunteers and it’s just exhausting for those who want to participate. The tasks are endless. The one meeting we organized we did try to be welcoming by offering food and beverage which he had to prepare, since we had hardly any budget.
The last chapter “Close to Home” is a bit of everything: education, work environment. Our education system is too complicated to be fully discussed in a few pages.
Reading this book did motivate me, if only briefly, to get more involved at provincial or local level. If just for that, it was worth it. I like his suggestion to pick one proposition and nudge it forward. If you picked one which one would it be?
I liked this book. Dave Meslin means well, he knows what he’s talking about and offers some interesting suggestions against the ambient cynicism. The subject is rather dry but the book is not. It’s an easy read enliven by numerous anecdotes, including one concerning billboard which is particularly shocking.
I was surprised to read something positive about Montreal political institutions. The boroughs, each with their townhouse and councillors are often accused of being useless, expensive and of rendering the city unmanageable. But, as he mentioned in his book, in Montreal, the municipal institutions are fairly convivial. As a rule, I’m very satisfied with the services provided, I usually find what I want on its web site. The consultations are numerous; the notices are inviting. We do have participatory budgeting elections. They have billboards in parks describing the different projects. I have been to my borough’s townhouse twice. Each experience was uncomplicated, fairly pleasant even. The first time was to ask for a permit to cut down an infested ash tree. The information provided was clear, I got the subsidy rapidly; city planted a new tree for free. The second time was even more pleasurable since my husband and I got married at the townhouse. Our local councillor, who had just been elected recently, performed the ceremony. She seemed more excited than we were.
The single most important change suggested here is the need for more representative elections with a measure of proportionality at all levels of government. It would give a chance to third parties to share their point of view. Citizens might be more motivated to vote. This major adjustment would require long analysis and discussion to select the best way to achieve it. I also like his suggestions to restore some power to the members of the House of Commons and other political instance and to modify the seating arrangement which is very adversarial. The Quebec National Assembly benefits from a nonpartisan Circle of Women Members intended as a forum to better equip the women to play their roles. They brought a motion against cyberbullying.
I find the idea of having non-elected representative participating in decision-making appealing. It would make the government more broad-based and give introverted, non-charismatic and not beautiful people a chance to voice their opinion.
I also totally agree with Meslin is in the anti-democratic aspects of omnibus bills and the need for a stronger freedom of information program.
I’m undecided about the dress code. I have a certain attachment to decorum, probably because I’m old, but, in the end, I tend to accept more casual clothes. If we want to make room for more diversified and younger politicians, we have to be more flexible. In Quebec, at the National Assembly, one of the deputies has a very controversial wardrobe: Doc Martins, jeans. When she wore hoodie, deputies from the opposing parties, threatened to have her expel. The hoodie was later put up for auction. She raised $5,000 for an organization that protects and house women who have been victims of domestic violence.
Adding more lobbying is a novel idea worth looking into.
I don’t see why sixteen-years-old could not vote—they can drive a car, pay taxes. Knowledge of government’s workings should be taught in school.
The author provides interesting suggestions about non-profit, including that of changing the name for something more meaningful.
I liked but did not love this book. He relies too much on anecdotes. The arguments are rather one-sided and he does not give counterarguments a fair chance. For example, he skims over the risk involved in a proportional election. Also, the author does not offer a useful call to action and talks too much about the American political system. He starts “Teardown…” by making a parallel between the disfranchised from both ends of the American political spectrum and I’m wondering if he could have made similar observations in Canada.
I was so shocked to learn that you cannot read or write in Queen’s Park that I checked if we are allowed in the National Assembly. While cameras and phone are forbidden; books and pens are accepted. However, I don’t believe that changing the physical environment of our assembly halls would necessarily translate in more participation. A person does need faith to take action but faith itself is not sufficient, he or she also requires energy and time. Getting involved is hard work.
Also, I don’t share his fondness for printed material. Not only is it not ecological, and expensive but it gets out of date right away and most people just throw it out.
I have observed first-hand that our voting system is obsolete but it works and is consistent across Canada and across federal, provincial and municipal elections. It does not take as long to vote as Meslin seems to imply. I’m not sure that a digital list would accelerate the process, but love the idea of online voting. I agree with the author that, if we can bank relatively securely, we can vote. So accustomed am I of voting on Monday that I was surprised to learn that the citizenry of other countries rarely vote on weekdays.
He offers diverse and interesting solutions to the financing of political parties. I still think that there should be a cap on political contributions. His suggestion that all contributions remain anonymous is weird. I don’t quite understand how it would function. What stops any contributor to telling a candidate how much he or she gave to his or her campaign?
He’s very harsh towards political parties. I belong to a one and don’t find it soul-crushing. I’m coordinator at the riding level and it’s had work to recruit and motivate members. After an election everybody is bone-tired. We mean to contact members, plan activities, discussion groups, picnic even, but there are very few volunteers and it’s just exhausting for those who want to participate. The tasks are endless. The one meeting we organized we did try to be welcoming by offering food and beverage which he had to prepare, since we had hardly any budget.
The last chapter “Close to Home” is a bit of everything: education, work environment. Our education system is too complicated to be fully discussed in a few pages.
Reading this book did motivate me, if only briefly, to get more involved at provincial or local level. If just for that, it was worth it. I like his suggestion to pick one proposition and nudge it forward. If you picked one which one would it be?
June 9, 2019
Democratic reform is often presented in two ways: overly academic or completely unattainable. Meslin adds a third option with Teardown.
A solid book (3.5 stars imo) that presents plausible, simples ways to help combat apathy and build upon Democracy in the Western world.
Meslin combines his solid political experience with practical solutions to improve democracy in Canada. While some of his ideas were off the mark and a little unrealistic, many of his ideas were easy to understand and could make an immediate impact on our democracy. I wish that leaders of Canada’s political parties would read this book!
Meslin’s book structure is very simple. Identify a problem, use real world examples, identify solutions, show how solutions have worked in other jurisdictions.
I would have been more inclined to give a better review had Meslin reigned in some ideas. I think it’s also important to note that many of the ideas presented were not ones he necessarily came up with (not that he presented them as his original ideas).
Meslin’s writing is simple, eloquent, free from sanctimony and incredibly optimistic. This is truly a field guide to biking a better democracy.
A solid book (3.5 stars imo) that presents plausible, simples ways to help combat apathy and build upon Democracy in the Western world.
Meslin combines his solid political experience with practical solutions to improve democracy in Canada. While some of his ideas were off the mark and a little unrealistic, many of his ideas were easy to understand and could make an immediate impact on our democracy. I wish that leaders of Canada’s political parties would read this book!
Meslin’s book structure is very simple. Identify a problem, use real world examples, identify solutions, show how solutions have worked in other jurisdictions.
I would have been more inclined to give a better review had Meslin reigned in some ideas. I think it’s also important to note that many of the ideas presented were not ones he necessarily came up with (not that he presented them as his original ideas).
Meslin’s writing is simple, eloquent, free from sanctimony and incredibly optimistic. This is truly a field guide to biking a better democracy.
June 23, 2023
Really tangible concrete and logical reforms to our democratic systems to make it so that power is not simply consolidated to the few, and that people are informed and have a voice on things that matter.
I've been very discouraged by our democratic system for a while. This book was a useful aid in giving me new ideas about how to not simply be discouraged, but move towards change.
I've been very discouraged by our democratic system for a while. This book was a useful aid in giving me new ideas about how to not simply be discouraged, but move towards change.
April 5, 2024
Well it was an excellent very thoroughly researched book with lots of personal experience and investigation of many different aspects of democracy and how it can function. The main focus was Canada but likely has lessons applicable in many places. Only room for improvement would be to integrate more understanding of human psychology, Dunbar's number and things like that.
May 19, 2019
You will come away from this book with at least one actionable idea for participating in your government, neighbourhood, school, etc. Hilarious, informative, and inspiring.
May 30, 2019
A call to democratize our lives
Full of ideas on how to make our society better for all of us. Dave Meslin offers wisdom and insights from his years as a social activist.
Full of ideas on how to make our society better for all of us. Dave Meslin offers wisdom and insights from his years as a social activist.
July 5, 2019
This is such a great, hopeful, passionate analysis of Toronto politics specifically and all democratic politics in general.
July 24, 2022
Required reading for living in any democracy
There is so much in this book that people across this planet need to hear. My neck hurts from all the nodding!
There is so much in this book that people across this planet need to hear. My neck hurts from all the nodding!
September 17, 2019
Amazing book, every Canadian should read it.
May 19, 2021
Excellent book examining many levels of societies democratic processses.
July 13, 2023
Necessary reading for all Canadians.
May 6, 2022
The good: He's like a Canadian Andrew Yang
The bad: He's like a Canadian Andrew Yang
The bad: He's like a Canadian Andrew Yang
March 19, 2020
'Taking action requires faith in our own ideas, faith in each other, faith in our leaders and faith in the system. … This is what makes culture so deeply biased against participation" (p.6).
I couldn't agree more. Yet, Meslin does a notable job making radical change seem possible.
I think I will buy a copy of this book for the two members of our City Council capable of navigating the written word without leaving blisters on their fingers. Oh, I forgot already ... 'faith in our leaders and faith in the system' ...
I couldn't agree more. Yet, Meslin does a notable job making radical change seem possible.
I think I will buy a copy of this book for the two members of our City Council capable of navigating the written word without leaving blisters on their fingers. Oh, I forgot already ... 'faith in our leaders and faith in the system' ...
April 3, 2023
3.5 stars. Compelling arguments especially with muni govt. Being an elected official myself, the ideas around public hearings, communication, city halls being open to public engagement made for sensible suggestions. To what extent can we implement is anybody’s guess. My own experience moving our city hall meetings to a public space took eight months . Because staff is busy, the resources limited. You’re always working against omissions and commissions of several decades and fixing stuff also costs real money at times. I felt some suggestions were over the top as I’m a type of guy who is always skeptical of people who say things in absolutes.
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