David Van Reybrouck (Author) David Van Reybrouck is the author of Congo: The Epic History of a People, which won twenty prizes, sold over half a million copies and has been translated into a dozen languages. His book Against Elections has been translated into more than twenty languages and has led to the trial use of participatory democracy in numerous countries, including the Netherlands, Belgium and Spain. His plays Mission and Para have been performed across Europe, and his novel Zinc won the European Book Prize 2017. Revolusi was first published in the Netherlands, where it was a major bestseller. David Van Reybrouck has been described as 'one of the leading intellectuals in Europe' (Der Tagesspiegel) and 'one of the most brilliant European intellectuals of the moment' (Le Soir). He is Belgian, writes in Dutch and is based in Brussels.

Excellent . . . Why does our system keep electing people whose incomes, assets, interests and psychology are hugely at variance with ours? Because that is what it is designed to do

1. 4/5

   Creative thinking on how democracy can be improved

   He shows that in ancient Athens more citizens were involved in political decision-making. The revolutions in the USA and France led to constitutions that consolidated the power of male elites. There have been experiments in involving more citizens in Ireland, the Netherlands, and Belgium, with a system of lotteries leading to more democratic participation. Complaining about the poor quality of politicians is of no use. The system needs re-thinking, and the book shows how.

   Robert P

   13 februari 2025

David Van Reybrouck (Author) David Van Reybrouck is the author of Congo: The Epic History of a People, which won twenty prizes, sold over half a million copies and has been translated into a dozen languages. His book Against Elections has been translated into more than twenty languages and has led to the trial use of participatory democracy in numerous countries, including the Netherlands, Belgium and Spain. His plays Mission and Para have been performed across Europe, and his novel Zinc won the European Book Prize 2017. Revolusi was first published in the Netherlands, where it was a major bestseller. David Van Reybrouck has been described as 'one of the leading intellectuals in Europe' (Der Tagesspiegel) and 'one of the most brilliant European intellectuals of the moment' (Le Soir). He is Belgian, writes in Dutch and is based in Brussels.

Excellent . . . Why does our system keep electing people whose incomes, assets, interests and psychology are hugely at variance with ours? Because that is what it is designed to do

1. 4/5

   Creative thinking on how democracy can be improved

   He shows that in ancient Athens more citizens were involved in political decision-making. The revolutions in the USA and France led to constitutions that consolidated the power of male elites. There have been experiments in involving more citizens in Ireland, the Netherlands, and Belgium, with a system of lotteries leading to more democratic participation. Complaining about the poor quality of politicians is of no use. The system needs re-thinking, and the book shows how.

   Robert P

   13 februari 2025