America is in trouble. "Monster Problems" are growing ...
- Increasing polarization, media silos, separate versions of "truth," lack of shared vision;
- Radicalized people, conspiracy theories gaining traction, social media info-sphere, rage without evidence, people calling for violence, lack of listening;
- The threat of dictatorship, a worsening oligarchy, threats to voting rights, weaponized DOJ, the unraveling of public institutions, fake news, etc. (See "How we can save American democracy")
- Pandemic mismanagement, government mandates, distrust of science, never-ending disease variants;
- L-shaped distribution of wealth and power, U.S. is an oligarchy, poverty, homelessness, oppressive school debt for young adults;
- Increased corruption, special interests dominating the public interest, legal bribery of politicians, evolving doors for executives;
- Poor collective thinking, partisan gridlock, avoiding the BIG issues, people afraid to look at the news, massive need for governmental reform;
- Declining trust in elections, the courts, governments and one another; losing the spirit of national community; loss of the American dream;
- Systemic racism, misogyny, caste-system prejudice, violence directed at minorities;
- Immigration policies that aren't working, generating fear;
- Destruction of the commons ... e.g. aquifers, forests, trust, spirit of community;
- Our system is destroying our people in many ways. It structures special interests to compete, where they dominate the public interest; a crisis of meaning where making money becomes the top priority for anyone who joins a corporation; a food system that undermines people's health and destroys soils; the encouragement of over-consumption, etc.
- .... and many more
More bad news ... Normal solutions don't work to solve Monsters
Normal solutions are those our existing System provides, like voting, street demonstrations, writing articles, lobbying "decision-makers," etc. When addressing big Monsters like systemic racism, legislation can help but it's hard to imagine that it's an answer.
Good news ... All Monsters are caused by our System. Fix that and you can solve all of them
Our Constitutional Republic was designed in the 18th century at a time of small in-dependent farmers, craftspeople and shopkeepers. The Founders assumed that setting up a fair "rules of the game" competition would generate Win/Win collective results. This "Rules of the Game" approach worked for a long time ... in government, economics and the culture. But now that we are inter-dependent this competitive game-like design has turned Lose/Lose. For instance, the mal-distribution of wealth is so obtuse that just a few men now own philanthropy, the media, politics, science, think tanks, etc. We are losing our individual freedoms at the same time as our collective performance is tanking.
In addition we are stuck inside the "game" without a way to collectively step back and reflect on how things are going. It's just a competition among special interests, with no legitimate voice of the Public Interest. As citizens whatever we do ...e.g. demonstrate, lobby Congress, improve our "democracy," etc. ... happens within the game as though these actions can still work.
Many people mislabel our System as a "democracy" because our founding was amazingly democratic. The founding moment was a heroic step that was actually "of, by and for the people" (except of course, back then only white male property holders were considered to be "the people"). It was in this special moment that the phrase and concept of "We the People" was invented. It was a narrative that "We the People" ... all of us ... could design, "ordain and establish" a constitution. Later in 1789, the process was used to enact the Bill of Rights. In this moment it was way more than "consent of the governed" because most everyone was saying "yes, let's try this new system."
Today, this meaning of the term "We the People" has been lost. The phrase is now used willy nilly, as though any vote or big gathering of people qualifies. But that's not it. A legitimate "We the People" means all of us engaged in a collective thinking process, reaching wise shared conclusions about what is needed and checking in on the progress we are making together. This is not just universal agreement, like "Let's not trash the planet." "We the People" is a new entity that currently doesn't exist. It resides outside the System, not in it.
Good news: It's possible for a few of us to convene the missing "We the People" conversation, where all people periodically step outside the System to self-reflect. And it's possible to facilitate this new conversation in the spirit of choice-creating, where people are respectful and creative; and where we co-create shared conclusions. That is, it's possible for a few of us to add a missing STRUCTURAL element to the existing System, "We the People, where We transform our System to be a "Wise Democracy." The Wise Democracy Project is the 8-step project by which this can happen. This is a Breakthrough because it's amazingly simple yet most people can't yet see how it could possibly work. Hopefully, your interest is piqued and you will investigate further. Ultimately, if you respond with something like "Yippie! Here's an answer that we can actually do!" please celebrate how rare you are and support this effort in whatever way you can.
In addition we are stuck inside the "game" without a way to collectively step back and reflect on how things are going. It's just a competition among special interests, with no legitimate voice of the Public Interest. As citizens whatever we do ...e.g. demonstrate, lobby Congress, improve our "democracy," etc. ... happens within the game as though these actions can still work.
Many people mislabel our System as a "democracy" because our founding was amazingly democratic. The founding moment was a heroic step that was actually "of, by and for the people" (except of course, back then only white male property holders were considered to be "the people"). It was in this special moment that the phrase and concept of "We the People" was invented. It was a narrative that "We the People" ... all of us ... could design, "ordain and establish" a constitution. Later in 1789, the process was used to enact the Bill of Rights. In this moment it was way more than "consent of the governed" because most everyone was saying "yes, let's try this new system."
Today, this meaning of the term "We the People" has been lost. The phrase is now used willy nilly, as though any vote or big gathering of people qualifies. But that's not it. A legitimate "We the People" means all of us engaged in a collective thinking process, reaching wise shared conclusions about what is needed and checking in on the progress we are making together. This is not just universal agreement, like "Let's not trash the planet." "We the People" is a new entity that currently doesn't exist. It resides outside the System, not in it.
Good news: It's possible for a few of us to convene the missing "We the People" conversation, where all people periodically step outside the System to self-reflect. And it's possible to facilitate this new conversation in the spirit of choice-creating, where people are respectful and creative; and where we co-create shared conclusions. That is, it's possible for a few of us to add a missing STRUCTURAL element to the existing System, "We the People, where We transform our System to be a "Wise Democracy." The Wise Democracy Project is the 8-step project by which this can happen. This is a Breakthrough because it's amazingly simple yet most people can't yet see how it could possibly work. Hopefully, your interest is piqued and you will investigate further. Ultimately, if you respond with something like "Yippie! Here's an answer that we can actually do!" please celebrate how rare you are and support this effort in whatever way you can.
What are the possible Systems?
Most people think in terms of there being only two possible Systems of governance: autocracy and "democracy." At the Center for Wise Democracy we call them the "Triangle" and the "Box" Systems. The Triangle System is autocratic with a "Dear Leader" in charge, where loyalty and obedience to the Dear Leader are required. In the 18th Century the U.S. transitioned from the Triangle to the Box by replacing the King with a Social Contract, the U.S. Constitution. In the Box people are loyal to the Constitution, not to the Dear Leader. The Box System basically sets up the "rules of the game" and can only work when the players are independent and the "rules" are fairly enforced. Then people are free to pursue their "happiness" and "legal persons" are free to pursue profits at the ultimate value. But today, this game-like design can't work and there is pressure to go back to the only other System that seems workable: The Triangle.
However, it's possible to shift to the Circle System instead, just by adding the missing "We the People" conversation. We call this new System "Wise Democracy" because it is "of, by and for the people," PLUS the added element of "collective wisdom." As Mary Parker Follett wrote in her 1918 book, "The New State" ...
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"We have not yet tried democracy. ...
The very essence and substance of democracy is the creating of the collective will. Without this activity the forms of democracy are useless, and the aims of democracy are always unfulfilled." |
How can we add the missing "We the People" conversation?
The Wise Democracy Project is an actionable 8-step strategy that facilitates all of us to step back periodically, face Monster Problems together respectfully, and creatively reach shared conclusions, i.e. the "collective will." As the process continues a unified "We the People" emerges as the ultimate authority, above the Constitution, the President, the branches of government, the economy and the culture. This new "We the People" conversation counters the current divisive political conversation. As ever more participants join, breakthrough progress on the Monster issues becomes normal. And, we stop creating Monster Problems in the first place. This Project offers a way We can rapidly overcome today's difficult moment, first by restoring and improving our Constitutional Republic, and then evolving into a "Wise Democracy."
Also note:
The Wise Democracy Project has no identifiable downside. Periodically, a few people are randomly selected; they give a speech and they go away. These continuing "Wisdom Councils" facilitate the new "We the People" conversation.
The Wise Democracy Project is accessible. As long as freedom of speech and freedom to assemble remain available to us, we don't need anyone's permission to set this in motion. A few of us can facilitate all of us to become our best selves and to come together as a legitimate "We the People."
The Wise Democracy Project yields immense benefits.
The Wise Democracy Project is accessible. As long as freedom of speech and freedom to assemble remain available to us, we don't need anyone's permission to set this in motion. A few of us can facilitate all of us to become our best selves and to come together as a legitimate "We the People."
The Wise Democracy Project yields immense benefits.
- The process by itself is a healing presence, where we educate ourselves about each difficult issue; where diversity of people and viewpoints is valued, where we create a new narrative about who We are and what We are doing, etc.
- The content of what Wisdom Councils co-determine are answers that we are going to pursue. We co-determine the truth that is currently obscured by media silos; listen to our shared concerns; build a shared vision, and check in on how well our change strategies are working.
- The new System (i.e. the Circle) involves and empowers citizens in a new collective thinking process of "We the People." This provides a way for us to head off our current collective stupidities and stop creating Monsters in the first place. Individuals are more free to follow their passions and co-create new meaning.
This works! We have experience at large scale!
This short (5 min) video (in English) describes one national Wisdom Council experiment in Germany. Note: German-speaking governments refer to the Wisdom Council as "Bürgerat" (i.e."Civic Council").
Additional resources
- Playlist of 3 recent talks to the organization "Fix Democracy First"
- “American Democracy is Collapsing: We Need a Breakthrough” 11/13/24 (45 min)
- "The Wise Democracy Project: A Rebirth of We the People" (with Zachary Weaver) —Oct 1, 2025 (57 min)
- "How we can solve America’s biggest problems together" 2/25/26 (52 min)
- Free Seminar (5-parts): "Essential Wisdom for Solving Society's Biggest Issues"
- Video: ... Healing Polarization in Society (4min)
- Handout ... "What can we do to save American Democracy?"
- Book (2002) “Society’s Breakthrough! Releasing Essential Wisdom and Virtue in All the People” by Jim Rough