“We need to know how to do the work of social change, and how to build structures to sustain our values of care, justice, and respect for the Earth and all its inhabitants. The guidebook for this change is Remaking Democracy.” —Safiya U. Noble, author of Algorithms of Oppression

“A love letter to past, present, and future change makers, Remaking Democracy is the antidote to techno-authoritarianism—and all projects used to truncate human connectedness—that we have been waiting for. With savvy, accessible prose, Chynoweth and Adams have composed an indispensable volume for theorists, organizers, and creative practitioners that speaks to the resilient power and promise of collective imagineering and community-sung desire and play at every scale.” —Anita Say Chan, author of Predatory Data

“This book is a tour de force offering a clear and deep analysis of capitalism and its inherent contradictions through which we can organize and bring this beast to its feet. Danielle Chynoweth and Elizabeth Adams brought me real hope that defeat of capitalist vicious greed can be done.” —Faranak Miraftab, professor, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

“A truly remarkable book loaded with ideas and strategies for reimagining society and building community.” —C.T. Lawrence Butler, cofounder of Food Not Bombs

“Chynoweth and Adams remind us that the cure for fascism is democracy—not as an abstract set of institutions but as direct participation and human agency. The problems that seem so hopeless they recast as contradictions, and every contradiction is an opportunity, a point of leverage. These authors, who’ve devoted their lives to seeking points of leverage and acting to make change, offer a practical framework and techniques any and all of us can take up, to change and save the world and ourselves one step at a time, in community with one another.” —Steve Randy Waldman, computer programmer and writer at interfluidity.com

“This is a rare volume that combines analysis based on grassroots organizing experience outside metro areas and theoretical insights from global struggles. All this is brought together in insightful dialogs between the authors . . . a fascinating and unique combination of story telling and deep reflection.” —James Kilgore, abolitionist activist and author of Understanding Mass Incarceration

“Now is the time to put forward bold, people-centered solutions. To do so, we need to learn from past movements, not rehash them. We need organizers who have been on the frontlines training a new crop of leaders that can see beyond their own time. Remaking Democracy: How We Make the Worlds We Want is a training manual for our future.” —Carol Ammons, Illinois State Representative, co-chair of the Illinois Black Caucus

“For the first time in human history, a connected, just, and equitable global society is possible. What we lack is mass participation in imaging and creating that world. Remaking Democracy: How We Make the Worlds We Want helps us think beyond the reality of our current existence to forge a radically inclusive, global community.” —Alfredo Lopez, founder of May First Movement Technology

“Danielle Chynoweth has kept her eyes on the prize for decades, shepherding institutions that have withstood outside pressure from fascists and funders alike—while building the organic community leaders and durable community-building policies that are the bedrock of transformation. This book will be a gift to anyone else hoping to do the same at this pivotal moment.” —Hannah Sassaman, Executive Director, People’s Tech Project

“Finally, after many years and much searching, I have found a book for all ages that can be used as a response to the question: what to do? I will use it in my lifelong learning courses on democracy.” —Larry Richards, cybernetician

“My creative journey has become inseparable from community, social responsibility, and care. The teachings of Danielle Chynoweth and Elizabeth Adams further deepened my understanding of approaching individual and collective harmony. [This] holistic approach has taught me to hold both in balance, affirming that a society flourishes only when the individual and the collective are equally seen, nurtured, and respected.” —Koushalya Jeganathan, filmmaker, India

“This book comes at the perfect time, when people everywhere are anxious about the new world order and citizen activism matters more than ever.” —Keiko Sei, media activist, Thailand

“This is a book I’ve been waiting for, even when I didn’t know it consciously. Chynoweth and Adams provide a timely and urgent call to participation in imagining the world we want to live in. Drawing on their decades of experience, they offer a message of hope and possibility. Anyone who looks at the world around them and sees reasons to despair should pick up this book and learn how to hope again.” —Dr. Andrew Ó Baoill, lecturer, University of Galway

“Remaking Democracy is a rallying call to transform a world in crisis. Urgent, practical, and fiercely hopeful, this book equips readers to imagine boldly, act collectively, and build the equitable futures our movements demand. Blending theory, real-world case studies, and actionable exercises, it invites us to envision—and create—the futures we deserve. In a time of democratic erosion, climate catastrophe, and rising authoritarianism, Remaking Democracy provides a radically hopeful and deeply practical approach to collective transformation.” —Tish Stringer, visual anthropologist

“This book serves as a curriculum that invites us to become active collaborators in reimagining, revolutionizing, and reconstructing new equitable democratic practices that accompany futurist thinking, participatory joy, advancing praxis, promotional healing, and equitable democracies.” —Stacey A. Robinson, multimedia artist

“This is the cookbook we need when democracy is in crisis. These are the recipes—and the stories behind the recipes—that will allow every local activist, line cook, and renowned chef alike to build their own local recipes for democracy; to improvise the exact ingredients and spices for their own communities. Democracy should be delicious.” —Dr. Kate McDowell, professor, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

“In an era of harrowing ecological, economic, and authoritarian crises, Remaking Democracy is an optimistic yet realist approach to building a more thoughtful and civil society.” —Sascha Meinrath, policy activist and educator

“This invaluable and timely book provides actionable plans and essential tools for transforming our world from the ground up. Inspiring hope and courage to confront the daunting challenges facing us today, Remaking Democracy is mandatory reading for anyone working towards a more just society.” —Victor Pickard, professor, University of Pennsylvania

“Blending experimental art, systems thinking, and grassroots organizing, Remaking Democracy offers an urgently needed toolkit for designing participatory, just futures. Chynoweth and Adams bring theory and practice together with originality, clarity, and care.” —Keith Moore, composer, artist-organizer, and educator

“Rooted in twenty-first-century local struggles, experienced activist and theoretician Danielle Chynoweth has written a timely, insightful, and practical guide for melding together different oppressed communities into united struggle against the US empire.” —Sundiata Keita Cha-Jua, professor, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Preface: Safiya U. Noble

Introduction: What Time Is It on the Clock of the World?

SPIRAL OF CHANGE

1. Analysis: Living in Contradiction
Formulation

2. Strategy: The Spiral of Change
Formulation

3. From Indymedia to Media Justice
Intervention

I GATHER PEOPLE AND STORIES

4. Begin with Telling Untold Stories
Formulation

5. Build Beloved Communities
Assignment

6. As Violence Was Done to Me
Story

II FORMULATE PROBLEMS AND SYSTEMS

7. Dig to Your Problem’s Roots
Formulation

8. Develop a Systems Analysis
Assignment

9. Campaign for Prison Phone Justice
Intervention

III GENERATE DESIRES

10. Desire as Liberation
Formulation

11. Right or Wrong, My Desires
Assignment

12. The School for Designing a Society
Intervention

IV UNEARTH CONTRADICTIONS

13. Contradictions Reveal Opportunity
Formulation

14. Find Leverage for Change
Assignment

15. Ending Homelessness
Intervention

V DESIGN INTERVENTIONS

16. Designing Care for a Loved One
Story

17. Where to Begin
Praxis

18. Principles to Guide Your Design
Praxis

19. Redesigning the Care in Health Care
Intervention

20. Cybernetics, Permaculture, and Performance
Praxis

VI ACT AND REFLECT

21. Local Organizing Against Police Violence
Intervention

22. The World Is Never Finished
Formulation

23. Praxis Braids Action and Reflection
Assignment

Conclusion: From One No to Many Yeses

Afterword: Mark Enslin