Teardown
Rebuilding Democracy from the Ground Up
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Teardown
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Narrated by:
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Dave Meslin
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Written by:
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Dave Meslin
About this listen
2020 Dafoe Book Prize
A handbook of democratic solutions in troubled times, from the activist the media call a "wizard", a "mastermind", "the ultimate ideas guy", a "mad scientist", a "start-up genius".
Our democracy is a trainwreck. Our elections feel hollow and our legislatures have become toxic. Fierce partisanship, centralized power, distorted election results, and rigged systems all contribute to our growing cynicism.
Voters are increasingly turning towards the angriest candidates, or simply tuning out completely and staying at home. But as Dave Meslin's career has shown, we can fix things. We can turn elite power structures upside down. We can give a voice to ordinary people. But it means fixing things from the bottom up, and starting locally. It's hard to change the world if you can't change a municipal by-law. Teardown shows listeners how to do both. And it will show us that these two challenges are not fundamentally different.
From environmental activism to public space advocacy to the ongoing campaign for electoral reform, Dave Meslin has been both out on the street in marches and in the back rooms drawing up policy. With Teardown he reminds us that the future of our species doesn't need to look like a trainwreck. That we're capable of so much more.
It's time to raise our expectations: of the system, of each other and of ourselves. Only then can we re-imagine a new democracy, unrecognizable from today's political mess. This book is a recipe for change. A cure for cynicism. A war on apathy.
©2019 Dave Meslin (P)2019 Penguin CanadaWhat the critics say
“Dave Meslin is a force of nature - a one-man think tank/pressure group who won’t stop until he sees his ideas for a better democracy put into action.” (Andrew Coyne)
“It’s funny and engaging, and his examples and recommendations are very specific and common-sense” (The Toronto Star)
“You must listen to Dave Meslin. Agree or disagree with his prescriptions, he is the clearest voice in our country talking about how to fix our democracy and improve our lives as citizens.” (Naheed Nenshi, Mayor of Calgary)
What listeners say about Teardown
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Edenilson
- 2020-02-25
Eye openning
Great, passionate book. It goes deep into the possible solutions that can rebuild our democracy. A little dreamy though, as much as I hate to say it but, since the final goal is to engage community against all odds, these solutions may take more time to happen than we would like to admit. Love the passion and tone of the narrator (who is also the author), very eloquent and inspiring, definitely worth the reading (listening) :)
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Heino D
- 2023-02-08
Let’s Make Our Democracy More Inclusive
Easy “read” with many interesting ideas on how to make our democracy and communities more inclusive. I thought some of the sections were a bit long-winded. Especially, the chapter on signage in public spaces. It took up too much space relative to the possible impact of the idea.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Alex
- 2023-05-22
Solid look at the state of our democracy.
For the activist, politician or average person looking to take a deeper look at our democracy, warts and all. Lots of good ideas on how the average person could impact the system we have today. Inspiring.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- kii
- 2021-09-10
Teardown is a must read!
I am so motivated after reading Dave Meslin's book! I plan to buy a copy for our local Council so they can start their journey out of the dark ages and into collective enlightenment.
Dave clearly and simply articulates real actions anyone can take to become involved citizens, and help turn the tide on our broken democracy.
I'll be reading this again and again, as one of my personal guides going forward.
Thanks team Meslin!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Wilson Shane
- 2021-11-17
this book is fantastic
this book should be handed to every student, councilor, politician, or anyone with even a vague interest in politics. I volunteered my time in a municipal election to an amazing candidate who though did not win a seat as emboldened my want to get politically active. she recommended me this book and that was an amazing recommendation. if more people even read this book we'd have a more engaged public to help fix are clearly flawed democracy.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 2019-10-01
Excellent listen/read for those who want change!
This book was a thought provoking listen. He talks of how everyone can make positive change and provides great stories & ideas for changing our political system.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 2019-11-07
inspiring
disheartened by politics this gives me hope that we could actually see change if enough people truley want it. It's easy to feel stuck with what we have but we can change it.
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