The Messenger - Issue #19: A Citizen's University
While citizenship is typically seen as a relationship between individuals and the state, even the largest and most powerful institutions are incapable of being nimble and sensitive enough to address wicked problems. The people who inhabit a problem have to be co-creators of any solution. Even better, citizens should be able to self-organize themselves to solve problems at every scale: from a hyper local need to a national emergency.
Afterword
The first book ever printed, i.e., not written or carved by hand, but set in movable type, was done so in China. We don't know when the very first one was printed but they were being commissioned by 868 CE, when this Diamond Sutra (an Indian Buddhist text that was popular in Chinese Buddhism) was manufactured. It's dedication says:
reverently made for universal free distribution by Wang Chieh on behalf of his parents on the fifteenth of the fourth moon of the ninth year of Xian Long (May 11, 868).
The Diamond Sutra, the Earliest Surviving Dated Complete Printed Book : History of Information — www.historyofinformation.com The Diamond Sutra, the Earliest Surviving Dated Complete Printed Book
And an interview with the historian Dipesh Chakrabarty on planetary politics. His 'Climate of History' is also well worth reading.
Dipesh Chakrabarty On Planetary Politics — www.noemamag.com Indian historian Dipesh Chakrabarty explains “the planetary” and what it means for the future of humanity.