# Citizens: Why the Key to Fixing Everything is All of Us

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/books/citizens-why-the-key-to-fixing-everything-is-all-of-us/
- Published: 2022-03-17T22:55:34+00:00
- Author: Howard Lake

**_Citizens_ opens up a new way of understanding ourselves and shows us what we 
must do to survive and thrive – as individuals, as organisations, as nations, even
as a species.**

Jon Alexander’s consultancy, the [New Citizenship Project](https://www.newcitizenship.org.uk/),
has helped revitalise some of Britain’s biggest organisations such as the Co-op,
The Guardian and the National Trust. Here, with the New York Times bestselling writer
Ariane Conrad, he shows how human history has moved from the Subject Story of kings
and empires to the current Consumer Story. Now, he argues compellingly, it is time
to enter the Citizen Story.

![Citizens (cover) - template by Vectorium / Freepik](https://wfay6x.infiniteuploads.
cloud/2022/03/citizens-cover-sideways.webp)

Book template by Vectorium / Freepik.

Because when our institutions treat people as citizens rather than consumers, everything
changes. Unleashing the power of everyone equips us to face the challenges of economic
insecurity, climate crisis, public health threats, and polarisation.

_Citizens_ is an upbeat handbook, full of insights, clear examples to follow, and
inspiring case studies, from the slums of Kenya to the backstreets of Birmingham.
It is the perfect pick-me-up for leaders, founders, elected officials – and citizens
everywhere.

With a foreword by **Brian Eno**.

More from [Jonalexander.net](https://www.jonalexander.net/).

> 👀😁🤩
> CITIZENS has been selected as one of The Bookseller “Highlights” in their
> newly published “Buyer's Guide Non-Fiction Feb 2022-July 2022”Y’know, just in 
> case you want to tell your local bookshop so they don’t miss out on the next big
> thing 😉[#CitizensNotConsumers](https://twitter.com/hashtag/CitizensNotConsumers?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
> [pic.twitter.com/CKh5zQ4UeC](https://t.co/CKh5zQ4UeC)
> — Jon Alexander (@jonjalex) [January 31, 2022](https://twitter.com/jonjalex/status/1488087672119828486?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

## Reviews

“In the decade or so since meeting Jon, I’ve never been more convinced he has one
of the few big ideas that’s easily applied, fundamentally needed and genuinely offers
a chance of change. Get on board for his new work, now. I am.”
**Sam Conniff**, 
author, _Be More Pirate_

“The shift from consumer to citizen is a truly big idea. If you’re in a position
of strategic influence, I strongly recommend you engage with this and consciously
explore what it might mean for your organisation.”
**Dame Fiona Reynolds DBE**, 
Former Director General, National Trust, and Trustee, BBC

“Citizens is a powerful and intriguing contribution to the search for a genuinely
sustainable future. I am particularly interested in how the Citizen Story might 
help businesses to engage more fully with their employees and customers to accelerate
sustainability and might also help businesses to become more transparent and accountable.”
**
David Grayson**, Emeritus Professor of Corporate Responsibility at Cranfield University
School of Management and co-author of The Sustainable Business Handbook’

“Society is like an out of control house party – eating, drinking and consuming 
everything. Jon is the organiser of the campfire gathering behind the party. It’s
calm and welcoming and you won’t want to leave. In Citizens, Jon and Ariane show
how to leave the burning house of the Consumer Story and join the campfire that 
is the Citizen Story.”
**Stephen Greene**, CEO of RockCorps and founding Chair of
National Citizen Service (UK)