Jon Alexander
on New Citizenship
Having lots of choices makes you forget there might be other (and better) possibilities “beyond the menu”.
The question is: who created the menu in the first place?
Jon Alexander has the answer: we live in a consumer democracy. Well, we call it democracy, “but our only agency is to choose between the options someone else offers us, rather than a democracy where we have a meaningful voice in shaping it on an ongoing basis.”
These are the core ideas about humanity that sit at the heart of his work:
We are #citizens by nature.
We are essentially storytelling creatures.
“The problem is we’re deriving our ideas of how to be good from a story that was created 150 years ago. That story is creating the crises that we’re inhabiting right now. It still tells us to focus on our own little bit and look out for ourselves. As a result, we’re in a social crisis of division and loneliness. We’re looking for solutions from a story that says happiness is attained by accumulating. The pain of that is huge.”
Jon Alexander began his career with a decade in the advertising industry, winning the prestigious Big Creative Idea of the Year, before making a dramatic change named CITIZENS: Why the Key to Fixing Everything is All of Us. The New Citizenship Project, his company that works to shift the dominant story of the individual in society from Consumer to Citizen.
He believes that we have been - and we are - exposed to three stories across history:
Subject Story (the dominant story of “keep your head down and do as you’re told because the God-given few know best and they will lead us to the best outcomes for society as a whole”);
Consumer Story (the Orwellian / selfishness story of “look out for number one, choose the best deal for yourself from those that are offered, and individual self-interest will add up to collective interest, because the best for society as a whole will emerge from the pursuit of that”);
Citizen Story (the story of “get involved, share your wisdom, share your ideas, be part of the conversation about what’s best for society as a whole”).
Flourishing humans, flourishing planet. This is how Jon defines sustainability. That’s why his brutally honest guidance for business leaders is that “taking any other path is, basically, criminal insanity”.
Goodbye “heroic leadership”, hello “involving people and building agency”! Be part of the community of regenerative leaders and citizens who are inherently creative, caring, collaborative creatures. Make the shift from Consumer to Citizen!
Thank you, Jon, for being a good Citizen!
#INSPIRATORS QUESTIONNAIRE
Name: Jon Alexander
Company / Institution: New Citizenship Project
Title: Co-founder
Website: www.jonalexander.net
LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jon-alexander-11b66345/
Country of origin: UK
Country you currently live in: UK
Your personal definition of Sustainability: Flourishing humans, flourishing planet.
Main business challenge you face: Working out what not to do.
Main driver that keeps you going: Belief in humanity.
The trait you are most proud of in yourself: Enthusiasm.
The trait you most value in others: Skepticism (to balance me out).
Passions & little things that bring you joy: Running, swimming, cycling.
The #inspirators who determined you to take the sustainability path:
Dr Chris Seeley, my tutor at Bath University
My partner of 22 years Jane Burston, CEO of the Clean Air Fund
A hint or starting point for companies or professionals that are taking the first steps in the sustainability journey: Know that taking any other path is basically criminal insanity.
Most used and abused clichés in sustainability that bother you: “Green growth”.
An honest piece of advice for young people who lose hope: Everyone who has thought hard about what’s happening feels down and dark sometimes, and no one can guarantee it will be ok; but equally, the fact that no one knows what the future holds is why it’s always worth acting to shape it.
Books that had a major impact on you:
Together by Ece Temelkuran
Sand Talk by Tyson Yunkaporta
Rekindling Democracy by Cormac Russell
Must-reads for any Sustainability professional: As above.
Movies / Documentaries you would watch all over again: Century of the Self by Adam Curtis.
Blogs / Websites / Podcasts etc. you visit frequently: How to Citizen with Baratunde Thurston.
Music that makes you (and your heart) sing: Any Britpop from around 1996 - especially Shed Seven.
Places you travelled to that left a mark on you: New Zealand and Australia for the time spent with Indigenous people.
Global Sustainability Voices you recommend us to follow:
Tyson Yunkaporta
Jane Burston
Trends in Sustainability we should keep an eye on: #CitizensNotConsumers
Best places for business networking (online or offline): LinkedIn.
Events we should attend: Fixing the Future.
Associations, business clubs, tribes you belong to – and why: 7oaks Triathlon Club, because it’s where I remember I have a body not just a head.
Sustainable Development courses / trainings / certifications that really teach us how to have an impact: Cranfield University MSc Sustainability.
Reasons to feel optimistic about our future in 2030: Humans are incredible!
Reasons to feel pessimistic about our future in 2030: The story of society we’re living within is deeply broken!
Regenerative Leadership qualities much needed today: Facilitator mindset and skillset. Recognition that all of us are smarter than any of us, and that what is needed is not “heroic leadership” but involving people and building agency.
Quote that inspires you:
“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, create a new model that makes the existing obsolete.”
(Buckminster Fuller)
Your own quote that will inspire us:
