New America Proposal – Project America in Transition

Any way you look at it, America is in transition that is long overdue, driven by technology. The implications, however, are global in nature as the application of tariffs, cuts to foreign aid and other measures clearly demonstrate.

One of the upsides of the Trump presidency is that it may accelerate the transition to deliberative or open democracy by tapping into the growing opposition not just to policies and action but, more broadly, to the general direction that he is taking an increasingly divided nation.

Project America in Transition Proposal

New America is invited to consider launching Project America in Transition under one of its existing programs or an entirely new program, funded by current or new donors.

The program would consists of two key components:

- Project Open Democracy – giving everyone a greater say in governance

- Project Common Vision - uniting an increasingly divided world.

Uniting the Experts and the Institutions

There are many highly qualified and experienced people around the world who are not just alarmed by the current state of global affairs but have been working towards solutions.

One of the key goals of the the project is to bring together these experts under the one umbrella through partnerships with organizations like the European The New Institute, the United Nations, OXFAM and the New York Times via David Brooks.

David Brooks

David Brooks, who has been writing on the key topics of the project for many years, including  the importance of character building, the collapse of morality in general and the need to restore and revive the idea of moral formation, is the ideal person to lead Project Common Vision.

The New York Times

The NYT in its editorial entitled: There Is a Way Forward: How to Defeat Trump’s Power Grab highlights the dangers and the need for action.

The past 100 days have wounded this country, and there is no guarantee that we will fully recover. But nobody should give up. American democracy retreated before, during the post-Reconstruction era, Jim Crow, the Red Scare, Watergate and other times. It recovered from those periods not because its survival was inevitable but because Americans — including many who disagreed with one another on other subjects — fought bravely and smartly for this country’s ideals. That is our duty today.

The solution suggested is, however, nothing more than some form of resistance, which was widely criticized in the comments section as a tepid response.

Open democracy offers a practical way to counter the power grab both directly through feedback and voting and, indirectly, through a vision of a possible future of peace and prosperity for all.

The NYT is ideally placed to lead the world in transitioning to open democracy by incorporating the PByT feedback service in its coverage of key topics and issues.

The United Nations

The United Nations once offered hope in nations coming together to resolve disputes, issues and global problems. Today, it is increasingly becoming an irrelevant, unwieldy institution made toothless by the veto power held by the five permanent members of the Security Council.

Open democracy powered by technology offers a new lease of life to this important institution.

The New Institute

The New Institute was founded in Hamburg, Germany in 2020 to further research precisely in the three key areas that the project addresses.

All of our activities are clustered around three Research Areas: The Human Condition in the 21st Century, The Future of Democracy, and Socio-Economic Transformation. An annual theme provides focus across these areas, and structures our research activities, fellowship programs, lectures, and workshops.

A partnership with The New Institute will bring an important European perspective to the project.

Noam Chomsky

At this stage of history, one of two things is possible:

Either the general population will take control of its own destiny and will concern itself with community interests guided by values of solidarity and sympathy and concern for others, or alternatively there will be no destiny to control. Noam Chomsky

Let’s make sure it is the former not the latter through Project America in Transition.