Democracy has always been shaped by the actions of ordinary people, but how do its ideals hold up in today’s divided and competitive world? Erica Benner, a leading political thinker, delves into the past and present of people power, exploring how democratic systems endure challenges and adapt to new pressures.

In conversation with Jon Alexander, author of Citizens and a prominent advocate for reimagining democratic engagement, Erica will address critical questions: What does equality mean in a world fixated on wealth and competition? How do we hold those in power accountable? And can we find enough common ground to sustain democracy in the future.

An exploration of democracy as a living, breathing system—its strength, fragility, and the critical part we each play in its survival.

Speakers:

Erica Benner is a political philosopher and historian of ideas. Born in Tokyo, she grew up in Japan and the UK. After earning her D.Phil from Oxford, she taught at universities in Poland, the UK, and the US, including Oxford, the London School of Economics, and Yale. Her books include Be Like the Fox, a biography of Machiavelli that was shortlisted for the Elizabeth Longford Prize and featured as a BBC Book of the Week.

She currently teaches in Berlin, London, Sweden, and China. As President of the European Society for the History of Political Thought, she co-edits the Brill series on European political and constitutional ideas. Her works have been translated into numerous languages, including Chinese, French, German, Hebrew, and Spanish. Her latest book, Adventures in Democracy: The Turbulent World of People Power is a Financial Times recommended read.

Jon Alexander is the author of CITIZENS: Why the Key to Fixing Everything is All of Us, and co-founder of the New Citizenship Project, a book and company that work to shift the dominant story of the individual in society from Consumer to Citizen. Among other plaudits, CITIZENS was listed by McKinsey as one of its Top 5 Recommended Books in its Summer Reading Guide 2022, described as “an underground hit” in the Financial Times, and selected by the World Economic Forum for its CEO Book Club. Jon began his career with a decade in the advertising industry, before shifting his attention to understanding how communications skills might be deployed to invite people into their agency as citizens, instead of just selling stuff to them as consumers.