- Expert contributors including Joyce Macmillan, Michael Brunson, Karen Evans, John Maxton, Matthew Taylor, Neal Acherson, Yasmin-Alibhai Brown and Anthony Everitt.
- Asks how a radically more participative citizenship culture could be achieved - one where people think of themselves as citizens and act like citizens.
- Concerned with long-term proposals rather than short-term issues.
- Looking towards the middle years of the new century it offers a practical vision of a more democratic and genuinely inclusive society.
Introduction. (Bernard Crick).
Options for the Referendum on the Voting System. (Martin Linton).
Party Democracy and Civic Renewal. (Matthew Taylor).
Reforming the House of Commons. (John Maxton).
Will Scottish Devolution Make a Difference? (Joyce McMillan).
After Multiculturalism. (Yasmin Alibhai-Brown).
How European Can We/ Will We Be? (Neal Ascherson).
Culture and Citizenship. (Anthony Everitt).
The Media. (Michael Brunson).
Citizenship and Schools. (Richard Pring).
The Need for Lifelong Learning. (Tom Schuller).
Relationships Between Work and Life. (Karen Evans).
The Voluntary Sector. (Isobel Lindsay).
The Community Roots of Citizenship. (Henry tam).
Accountability and Responsibility of Government and Public Bodies. (Anthony Barker).
Citizenship in Britain: Attitudes and Behaviour. (Patrick Seyd, Paul Whiteley and Charles Pattie).
The Divine Comedy of Contemporary Citizenship. (Colin Crouch).
Index.
The question is posed that if the old democratic socialist project seems either halted, stilted or abandoned, how can we at least, possibly at best, achieve a truly democratic and inclusive society - a culture of positive citizenship? The inquiry and advocacy ranges through institutions of government, the parties, parliament, problems of multi-culturalism, the practices of the voluntary sector, education and the arts