In this episode I talk to Andy Paice about reimagining Democracy.

Andy was a Tibetan monk for 10 years. Since then he has become a participatory democracy consultant. He is passionate about transforming democracy so that it is able to solve society’s problems a lot better than it does now, by getting normal citizens more involved in making policy decisions.

One of the most fascinating things about this conversation for me was understanding how he is translating what he learnt through his ‘inner work’ about the need to listen to and respect all aspects of his mind, into the ‘outer work’ of listening to all the different perspectives in society. Neither the mind nor the nation can be harmonious if certain parts are judged, attacked or ignored.

We talk about the fact that there is a desperate need to evolve our democractic systems right now to transcend polarisation and find common ground on urgent issues like Covid, Climate Change and our economic recovery. And looking at recent events in the USA, to avoid all out civil war!

We discuss different models of how to do that, that are already up and running.

When I read the news I often feel frustrated and despairing about politics, but this conversation made me feel really optimistic that with a different system and philosophy, we could have a much more effective democracy that benefits the whole of society.

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Andy lives in London, where he works as a facilitator and consultant advising and supporting local authorities to bring the public into decision making processes. He has been involved in the recent wave of Citizens Assemblies and participatory democracy in the UK. He designs, convenes and facilitates democratic processes based on dialogue and deliberation. His goal is always to help groups find wise and mutually beneficial solutions.