Democracy's Second ACT: Why Politics Needs the Public

Democracy isn’t broken – it’s stuck. Around the world, people are growing angry and polarized – not because they’ve stopped caring, but because democracy has stopped evolving. The result isn’t apathy – it is a rising sense of political futility.

In Democracy’s Second Act, Peter MacLeod and Richard Johnson argue that the first act of democracy – anchored in voting rights and representative government – achieved extraordinary gains. Free elections, near-universal suffrage, and the peaceful transfer of power reshaped societies and expanded human freedom. But these achievements represent the promise of democracy, not its completion.

Their book offers a hopeful, clear-eyed vision for what comes next. Drawing on groundbreaking citizens’ assemblies in Ireland, Canada, and France – as well as democratic innovations from more than a dozen countries – MacLeod and Johnson show how we can build on the legacy of the first act by creating new institutions that tap into the talents, judgement, and capabilities of ordinary people. They make the case that the public isn’t a risk to be managed, but a powerful resource ready to be harnessed and that the future depends on giving citizens real responsibility, not just a periodic vote.

Smart, story-driven, and deeply grounded in political theory and practice, Democracy’s Second Act is for changemakers ready to move beyond cynicism and rebuild democracy for a new era.

Peter MacLeod is the founder and principal of MASS LBP, where for nearly two decades he has been at the forefront of democratic innovation championing a new style of politics rooted in deliberation and shared power. A trusted advisor to governments at all levels, he is one of Canada’s leading voices on democracy, civic trust, and active citizenship.

Richard Johnson is a former journalist and current policy director at MASS LBP. His writing has appeared in The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, The Walrus, Reader’s Digest, This Magazine, The New Quarterly, and many others. A former Fellow in Literary Journalism at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, he was also a longtime writer for the award-winning podcast Trailblazers, with Walter Isaacson.