Ep:#43 Jon Alexander on why the private sector should treat people as citizens and not consumers

What does it mean to be a citizen? What are we doing to ourselves when we tell ourselves we’re consumers over 3000 times a day? How is the world changing? And what would the impact be on society if the private sector started to treat its people as citizens and not consumers? Jon Alexander, Co-Founder of the New Citizenship Project, a strategy and innovation consultancy that aims to shift the dominant story of the individual in society from Consumer to Citizen, suggests in this chat that we are living at a time that presents a remarkable opportunity for change. We talk about the power of language and how very quickly, due to how we talk about something, we can automatically limit what we believe people are capable of. We learn about what participatory democracy looks like from a fascinating Taiwanese case study involving the world's first transgender government minister. We talk about the power of creating community and the vital importance of building agency. And we reflect on Jon’s book CITIZENS – and why the key to fixing everything is all of us. (You can pre-order a copy at jonalexander.net) If you want to stretch your brain, and find tangible ways to change things today, tune into this one. So throw on those running shoes, or grab that favourite beverage, and here is Jon. And please don't forget to let us know what you think of this episode, leave a review and subscribe.