Next Generation Democracy: What the Open-Source Revolution Means for Power, Politics, and Change [Paperback]

I have to say I wasn't sure what to expect from this book. The book description admits that the "challenges of the twenty-first century are of an unprecedented scale", and lists climate change, financial instability, the housing crisis, and the need for health care as just a few of these challenges. The next paragraph then tells us that there is good news: "We can use our vast size and complexity to our advantage", and that, "[The author] Duval describes a new approach to solving complex problems that draws on the contributions of vast and diverse communities of engaged citizens."

As someone who has a tenuous grasp of what young "social change leaders" like Duval do, and as someone who believes our "vast size and complexity" have made getting anything major done in this country next to impossible, I figured the book would contain fanciful ideas at best. After reading the book I now admit I was utterly wrong. The book is an enjoyable read - part history lesson, part case study, and part call-to-arms.

Duval early on lays out his thesis - that our global challenges can and should be addressed using open source techniques and technology - and he fully admits that there is no silver bullet to solving these challenges. To bolster his thesis he uses a perfect mixture of his own personal experiences; stories of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina; polling data; interviews; and historical research, which includes brief but enjoyable histories of the organization SeeClickFix and the forward-thinking community of New Haven, CT. The small book contains a deceptively impressive amount of well-researched and well-written data.

The strength of the book lies in this writing, and Duval's ability to bring everything together to continually support his thesis. He carefully lays out the stories of various people and organizations, showing us how the collaborative environment and the can-do spirit of the open source movement allows people to tackle their challenges - whether these involve a community devastated by a hurricane or people fed up with poor city services. He does not shy away from failures either, citing several examples of how politicians have tried and failed to collaborate with their constituents. (Sadly, the story of one member of Congress who visits each of his districts once a year to actively listen to his constituents seems to be an isolated case.)

Most importantly I actually walked away from the book having some ray of hope about the future of our society, which is no mean feat considering I'd picked up the book thinking so cynically about this future. Hopefully Duval's spirited call-to-arms will reach others so we can all press forward with his approach to society's challenges.

Think Obama has betrayed his appeal for change and hope?
Think the Republicans are being obstructionist?
Think the solution is the next "wave" to sweep Washington?
Read this book.
Jared Duval eloquently and incisively lays out a case for (and the urgency of) revising our broken political system. The dark truth we all secretly acknowledge is that our voice is not being heard. And by our voice I mean Our Voice, the voice of all segments of society, comfortable and poor, involved and disengaged, silent and belligerent, including the one(s) who might have a solution to our most pressing problems. He reviews the technological, scientific, and demographic tools evolving today that might change this. As he points out in the afterword, most of these developments are not new, but he does an excellent job of describing the potential and the cautions in reforming our inept political system. Some of it makes me a little queasy, since I'm generally skeptical of Vox Populi, but his version makes a great deal of sense. And as he points out, democracy is never finished; it will always need improving. Here's a thorough discussion of a good next step.

It's a good overview through recent history of open collaboration systems! Good introduction of concepts and nice ideas to create the world of tomorrow!