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| May Be Just the Book You Need Today! |
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...
Within the pages of 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.
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THE STATUS QUO IS JUST A PASSING PHASE!
Sunny and his kinfolk were content with their way of life. During the dry season, their clan lived alone. They hunted whenever they chose, gathered an array of plants, told stories, and took part in debates. In the rainy season, they united with the rest of their tribe. They formed a temporary city, feasted, held dances and played games.
They could have lived like this forever. But a strange and foreign people had ideas of their own...
Appearing out of nowhere, these aliens looked completely different. They smelled different. They even dressed differently. And they had the most peculiar habits.
These people did not live with the earth. They exploited the earth, imposing monocultures and intensive farming. They were not content with their lot. They were possessed by an insatiable desire to consume. And they had no sense of freedom. They were beholden to a never-ending list of outlandish concepts; things such as “Hierarchy,” “Patriarchy,” “Monarchy,” “Monogamy,” “God,” “Punishments,” “Ownership,” “Inequality,” “Money,” “Work,” and “Tax.”
Sunny and his kinfolk faced the toughest decision in their history…
They could wage war on these imposters. But their enemies were strong. They had killed hundreds-of-thousands of indigenous people.
They could flee. But these imperialists would surely follow. They would push them into the sea, the mountains or the desert.
Their clan needed another solution. But what could it be? Could they negotiate with this violent foe? Could they form a pact? Could they create a kind of alliance?
Sunny had no idea. But he was compelled by a duty to find out. This was his time. And he was willing to risk his life, to save the people he loved…
THIS IS NOT THE END OF HISTORY. OTHER WORLDS WERE POSSIBLE...
SOME PEOPLE LIVE UNDER OCCUPATION.
SOME PEOPLE OCCUPY THEMSELVES.
NO ONE IS FREE.
Step into a world which is both magically fictitious and shockingly real. Walk side-by-side with a refugee, native, occupier and economic migrant. And watch on as the world around you transforms from a halcyon past into a dystopian future.
Inspired by the occupations of Palestine, Kurdistan and Tibet, and by the corporate occupation of the west, ‘Occupied’ is a haunting glance into a society which is a little too familiar for comfort. Powerful, dark, dystopian and magical; Occupied truly is a unique piece of literary fiction…
- "Darker than George Orwell's 1984" - AXS
- "Candid and disquieting" - Free Tibet
- "Genre-busting" - Pak Asia Times
- "Brilliant" - Middle East Monitor
- "A must read" - Buzzfeed
With several positive reviews to his name, Sheldon had caught the writing bug. He visited Palestine and Kurdistan, to research his second novel, 'Occupied'; a masterpiece unlike anything you've ever read!
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| "Can you remember who you were, before the world told you who you should be." |
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