Local Government ExplainedSummer reading from our Chief Exec
Jonathan Carr-West
In what is now an annual LGIU tradition, Chief Executive, Jonathan Carr-West shares the list of books he is aspiring to read over his August holiday break.
In what is now an annual LGIU tradition, Chief Executive Jonathan Carr-West shares the list of books he aspires to read over his August holiday break!
Looking back at last year’s holiday reading list, it was dominated by state of the nation books. What’s wrong with the country and how do we fix it? That seemed apposite to the moment with a new government just elected (hard to believe that’s only a year ago).
This year’s list is more eclectic but it centres themes around people, purpose, places and how they intersect with political, democratic, economic and technological systems.
The Work We Need: A 21st Century Reimagining by Hilary Cottam examines how we might reimagine work for the 21st century, centering it around relationships, care, and collaboration.
Tyranny of the Minority: How to Reverse an Authoritarian Turn and Forge a Democracy for All by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt. In a follow-up to their influential (and provocative) How Democracies Die, Levitsky and Ziblatt argue that democratic systems designed to protect minorities can be manipulated to authoritarian ends.
Left Behind: A New Economics for Neglected Places by Paul Collier. Distinguished Oxford economist Collier sets out a pragmatic framework for reviving left-behind communities through localism, civic renewal, and effective regional investment strategies.
The Handover: How We Gave Control of Our Lives to Corporations, States and AIs by David Runciman. The extent to which we may be be surrendering agency to big tech is a recurrent debate in public policy. Runciman looks at this question in relation to other large-scale systems we have empowered like corporations and governments.
History for Tomorrow by Roman Krznaric. Many of the challenges we face today feel, and may indeed be, unprecedented in terms of their complexity, scale and interconnectedness. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t draw on history for inspiration on how to tackle them
I’m not sure how, or if, these books all come together but the issues here all feel pertinent to the current inflection point for local government.
So that’s what I will be reading – or hoping to absorb through poolside osmosis – over the holidays!
Why not check out the reading, watching and listening list of recommendations from the LGIU team.
Was this article helpful or relevant for you?
