
Democracy
A User's Guide
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Narrated by:
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Ian Pringle
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By:
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Joss Sheldon
About this listen
They say we live in a democracy. We are free, and we should be grateful.
But just how “free” are we? How democratic are our so-called “democracies”?
Is it enough to simply elect our leaders and sit back, helpless, as they rule over us like dictators? What good is selecting our politicians, if we cannot control our media, police, or soldiers? If we must blindly follow our teachers’ and bosses’ commands whilst at school and in the workplace, is it not a little naïve to believe that we are the masters of our own destinies? And if our resources are controlled by a tiny cabal of plutocrats, bankers, and corporations, can we honestly say that our economies are being run for us?
Could things not be a little bit more, well, democratic?
Indeed, they can! Democracy: A User’s Guide shows us how.
In this story-filled book, we shall visit Summerhill, a democratic school in the east of England, before stopping off in Brazil to check out Semco, where workplace democracy is the name of the game. We will travel to Rojava, to explore life in a democratic army, and head to Spain to see why Podemos is giving liquid democracy a go. We shall travel back in time to see democracy at work in hunter-gatherer societies, tribal confederacies, the guilds, and on the commons. We will consider the case for participatory budgeting, deliberative democracy, collaborative hiring, community currencies, peer-to-peer lending, and much much more.
The message is clear and concise: Democracy does not have to be a pipe dream. We have all the tools we need to rule ourselves.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2020 Joss Sheldon (P)2020 Joss SheldonListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
"Entertaining and insightful.... Enjoyable.... Interesting and curious.... The examples Sheldon has collected for this book are fascinating and make for a provocative read." (Irish Tech News)
"Democracy is inherently a swamp with too many variables, both specific and contextual. Sheldon leads the reader deep into this swamp, lets them feel lost, and then shows them the many potential ways in which it can be navigated, thus reminding us that there isn't one definite meaning of democracy, nor one way to reach it, nor a standard formula to preserve it.... It emphasizes the need to democratize across the board--at schools, in corporations, in the market, among law enforcement organizations, within armies, in media groups, at places of work, and so on. While the lack of dates in the anecdotes sometimes makes the reader unsure of the context, this is an interesting and immensely readable book." (Dollars & Sense Magazine)
"An incredibly straight forward guide and a book everyone living in a democracy should read.... Overall, Democracy: A User's Guide by Joss Sheldon is highly recommended. Easily, 5-Stars!" (Readers' Views)
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- By: Cory M. Pfarr
- Narrated by: Mike Hennessy
- Length: 10 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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This is the first book-length, critical analysis of Lieutenant General James Longstreet's actions at the Battle of Gettysburg. The author argues that Longstreet's record has been discredited unfairly, beginning with character assassination by his contemporaries after the war and, persistently, by historians in the decades since. By closely studying the three-day battle, and conducting an incisive historiographical inquiry into Longstreet's treatment by scholars, this book presents an alternative view of Longstreet as an effective military leader.
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Longstreet Vindicated
- By Mr. Noodle on 10-24-23
By: Cory M. Pfarr
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Dangerous Visions
- By: Harlan Ellison
- Narrated by: Tim Campbell, Simon Vance, Steven Jay Cohen, and others
- Length: 24 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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A landmark short story collection that put the more character-based New Wave science fiction on the map, Dangerous Visions won several prestigious awards and was nominated for many others. This now-classic anthology includes thirty-three stories by thirty-two award-winning authors, over half of whom have won multiple Hugo and Nebula Awards.
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Pre-Star Trek pre-Star Wars brilliance!
- By Darrell James on 06-29-24
By: Harlan Ellison
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Individutopia
- A Novel Set in a Neoliberal Dystopia
- By: Joss Sheldon
- Narrated by: Douglas Thornton
- Length: 5 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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The year is 2084, and that famous Margaret Thatcher quote has become a reality: There really is no such thing as society. No one speaks to anyone else. No one looks at anyone else. People don’t collaborate, they only compete...It all sounds rather morbid, does it not? But please don’t despair, there is hope, and it comes in the form of our hero: Renee Ann Blanca. Wishing to fill the society-shaped hole in her life, our Renee does the unthinkable: She goes in search of human company!
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Stellar and thought-provoking.
- By Anonymous User on 05-11-22
By: Joss Sheldon
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La Petite Voix [The Little Voice]
- By: Joss Sheldon
- Narrated by: Olivier Piquer
- Length: 4 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Mon caractère a été façonné par deux forces opposées ; la pression de me conformer aux normes sociales et celle d’être moi-même. Pour être franc, ces forces m’ont vraiment déchiré. Elles m’ont secoué d’un côté à l’autre. Parfois, elles m’ont poussé à remettre toute mon existence en question.
By: Joss Sheldon
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Merlin’s Tour of the Universe, Revised and Updated for the Twenty-First Century
- A Traveler’s Guide to Blue Moons and Black Holes, Mars, Stars, and Everything Far
- By: Neil deGrasse Tyson
- Narrated by: Jim Meskimen, André Santana, Bronson Pinchot, and others
- Length: 4 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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In Neil deGrasse Tyson’s delightful journey through the cosmos, his fictional character Merlin responds to popular questions asked by adults and children alike. Merlin, a timeless visitor from Planet Omniscia in the Andromeda Galaxy, has observed firsthand many of the major scientific events of Earth’s history.
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Learning to love Space
- By Tara Nichol on 02-15-25
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Righting the Longstreet Record at Gettysburg
- Six Matters of Controversy and Confusion
- By: Cory M. Pfarr
- Narrated by: Mike Hennessy
- Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Following up on the award-winning Longstreet at Gettysburg, this collection of new essays addresses some of the persistent questions regarding Confederate General James Longstreet's performance at the Battle of Gettysburg. Influential interpretations of his actions are evaluated for historical accuracy, drawing on often overlooked primary source material. Points of contention about Longstreet's July 2, 1863, attack are examined, along with the roots of the Longstreet-Gettysburg Controversy and the merits of Helen Longstreet's early 20th-century attempt to address it.
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Stop the “character” voices shtick
- By Brett Asselin on 02-16-24
By: Cory M. Pfarr
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The Perfect Story
- How to Tell Stories That Inform, Influence, and Inspire
- By: Karen Eber
- Narrated by: Karen Eber
- Length: 7 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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The Perfect Story will help you take your stories and make them perfect. Learn how to take any story and make it perfect--from storytelling expert Karen Eber, whose TED Talk on the subject has nearly two million views.
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One of the best books on storytelling by far
- By Esben on 10-08-23
By: Karen Eber
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Conquistador Voices
- The Spanish Conquest of the Americas as Recounted Largely by the Participants, Volume I
- By: Kevin H. Siepel
- Narrated by: Kevin H Siepel
- Length: 12 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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The Spanish Conquest: What really happened? If you like to use your drive time for education by audiobook, consider this audiobook for widening and deepening your view of an event you studied briefly in school - the Spanish conquest of the Americas. Conquistador Voices, neither glamorizes nor condemns the conquistadors. Somewhat in the manner of a modern film documentary, it treats the so-called conquest as an historical event that’s worth learning about for its own sake, with most of the moralizing left to the listener.
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The Misleading Title is the Most Forgivable Part..
- By Tyler Sanders on 12-19-22
By: Kevin H. Siepel
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The Fixers
- Eddie Mannix, Howard Strickling and the MGM Publicity Machine
- By: E.J. Fleming
- Narrated by: Mike Hennessy
- Length: 13 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Eddie Mannix and Howard Strickling are virtually unknown outside of Hollywood and little-remembered even there, but as General Manager and Head of Publicity for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, they lorded over all the stars in Hollywood’s golden age from the 1920s through the 1940s—including legends like Garbo, Dietrich, Gable and Garland. When MGM stars found themselves in trouble, it was Eddie and Howard who took care of them—solved their problems, hid their crimes, and kept their secrets. They were “the Fixers.”
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business
- By julian tarasiuk on 03-11-25
By: E.J. Fleming
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The Land of the Gods
- The Long-Hidden Story of Visiting the Masters of Wisdom in Shambhala
- By: H. P. Blavatsky
- Narrated by: Leslie Howard
- Length: 5 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Now, Ukrainian-born Madame Blavatsky returns with a long-hidden book. She took a vow of silence not to reveal during her lifetime the place she had visited. She cleverly hid her secret story in plain sight by giving it to another writer. What long-lost, timeless wisdom did she conceal in her wonderful narrative? Immersive and engaging, this profound book will provide you with a unique outlook on the deeper side of life, exposing our true nature, interior powers, and ultimate destiny. It explains grand, spiritual ideas more thoroughly and swiftly than any book you’ll ever read.
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Brilliant Narration
- By Mistery on 01-11-23
By: H. P. Blavatsky
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A User's Guide to Democracy
- How America Works
- By: Nick Capodice, Hannah McCarthy, Tom Toro - illustrator
- Narrated by: Hannah McCarthy, Nick Capodice
- Length: 7 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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From the hosts of New Hampshire Public Radio’s Civics 101 and New Yorker cartoonist Tom Toro comes A User's Guide to Democracy, a lively crash course in everything you should know about how the US government works.
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Incredibly Fun And Informative!!
- By love55 on 11-10-20
By: Nick Capodice, and others
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Responding to the Right
- Brief Replies to 25 Conservative Arguments
- By: Nathan J. Robinson
- Narrated by: Nathan J. Robinson
- Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Current Affairs editor Nathan J. Robinson has developed a reputation as a meticulous slayer of irrational and bigoted arguments. He has tangled with the likes of Ben Shapiro, Jordan Peterson, and Charles Murray, exposing their flimsy logic and distorted facts with forensic thoroughness and savage wit. In Responding to the Right, Robinson blasts right-wing nonsense with devastating intellectual weaponry, revealing how everyone from Ann Coulter to the National Review uses fear and lies to manipulate the public.
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Fair, brief as necessary, and persuasive
- By Nicholas M. Michalak on 02-25-23
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Battling the Big Lie
- How Fox, Facebook, and the MAGA Media Are Destroying America
- By: Dan Pfeiffer
- Narrated by: Dan Pfeiffer
- Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Bestselling author Dan Pfeiffer dissects how the Right Wing built a massive, billionaire funded disinformation machine powerful enough to bend reality and nearly steal the 2020 election. From the perspective of someone who has spent decades on the frontlines of politics and media, Pfeiffer lays out how the Right Wing media apparatus works, where it came from, and what progressives can do to fight back against disinformation.
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Great book, sub-par Audible performance
- By Chris & Tracy on 06-22-22
By: Dan Pfeiffer
What listeners say about Democracy
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Maktoum Saeed Al-Maktoum
- 05-16-21
Eye opener and Thought provoking
I have listened to the preview and found the narration excellent but doubted if it can deliver a complicated and debatable subject - no, I am not against Democracy, but what IS Democracy?
The introduction pulled me in with the author belittling him self and the book but making it attractive but many groups of people like me.
Simple, hilarious and respectful. Excellent tone (both writing and narration) with varied examples with a respectful tone with few jokes and "British" sarcastic complaints to make a heavy subject lighter.
If I will comment on something then it will be that I wished the editor changed read/reading to listen/listening.
Thank you very much Joss Sheldon and Ian Pringle!
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- mike s.
- 01-18-21
A Schizophrenic's Romp
“The information they deserve” – a quote from this book is at the heart of why it is a schizophrenic thing. The book is long on information, but short on cause, effect and consequences. I would say “on one hand, he says this…” etc. but the author is examining Democracy from so many different angles, he keeps getting in his own way. In the introduction, he describes himself as an anarchist. An anarchist systematically studying a series of systems? Odd. The book is well written and well researched, full of large-scale and small-scale examples of democracy. He also illustrates why Britain’s and America’s public school system is systemic garbage and wholly monstrous. So, good on ya there. He writes with rapturous prose the small, neighborhood communes in Venezuela, then moves on to the next system without showing any negative effects. When there was an historical problem (mass murder, starvation, totalitarianism), the author breezes past this on onto the next example. It is possible to study issues and come to the very wrong/worse conclusions. Because it is so well researched, I will give it 3 stars. I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
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2 people found this helpful