When businesses, charities and governments treat people as citizens, everything changes. We become equipped to face the big challenges of inequality, climate, pandemics and polarisation. So let's end the age of the consumer and begin the age of the citizen! With case studies from Kenya to Birmingham of inspiring individuals making a better future.

'The answer to many of the global challenges we face today.'

McKinsey Global Consultancy, Top 5 Recommended Read

'Jon Alexander's New Citizenship Project speaks to action in the real world but has an immensely solid base in ideas as expressed in words, the meanings and applications of which he first teases out and then rams home with elan and gusto in this bravely inspiring book.'

Paul Cartledge, Emeritus Professor of Greek Culture, Cambridge University

'It is an inspiring idea... the text of this book should be taught in every civics class everywhere'.

Sunday Independent, Ireland

'His lively book – which has become something of an underground hit – highlights new forms of active citizenship.'

Financial Times, Top 5 Political Books

‘Citizens is a breath of fresh air amidst deep concern about the future of democracy. It offers a powerful vision for the transformation of our institutions.’

Marietje Schaake, International Policy Director, Stanford University Cyber Policy Center, and author, Democracy.com

'The shift from consumer to citizen is a truly big idea. If you’re in a position of strategic influence, I strongly recommend you engage with this and consciously explore what it might mean for your organisation.'

Dame Fiona Reynolds, former Director General, National Trust

'In this engaging book, Jon lays out his full vision for how this mindset shift can transform not just business, but NGOs and governments too.' 

Alex Edmans, Professor of Finance, London Business School

'Citizens is a powerful provocation for our times... Highly recommended.'

Nichola Raihani, Professor of Evolution and Behaviour, University College London, and author, The Social Instinct

'The wonderful thing is that he not only gives us hope but more importantly he lights a pathway to make this new paradigm a reality through the years of deep work, thinking and action that have formed the basis of his book.'

Jason Stockwood, Vice Chairman, Simply Business, and Chairman, Grimsby Town Football Club

'This is a truly powerful book, in every sense of the word.'

Josh Babarinde, Forbes 30 Under 30 Social Entrepreneur

'Every great transformation requires a new story. A story that reveals new possibilities and points toward an optimistic alternative to the current situation. Citizens presents just such a story.'

Tim Brown, Chair of IDEO and author of Change By Design

'Jon is working with a set of ideas and tools that have the potential to change politics forever. In fact, they could change everything forever.'

Ian Kearns, Founder and Trustee, European Leadership Network

'Citizens is a powerful and intriguing contribution to the search for a genuinely sustainable future.'

David Grayson, Emeritus Professor of Corporate Responsibility at Cranfield University School of Management and co-author of The Sustainable Business Handbook

'There is such a thing as an idea whose time has come. This is that idea.'

James Perry, Board Member, B Lab Global, and Founding Partner, Snowball Investment Management

'I've never been more convinced he has one of the few big ideas that's easily applied, fundamentally needed and genuinely offers a chance of change. Get on board for his new work, now. I am.'

Sam Conniff, Author, Be More Pirate

'Citizens is so exciting and full of energy from the beginning that I wanted to read the whole thing immediately. A wonderful guide to how to be human in the 21st Century.'

Ece Temelkuran, Author, How to Lose a Country: the Seven Steps from Democracy to Dictatorship

JON ALEXANDER began his career with success in advertising, winning the prestigious Big Creative Idea of the Year before making a dramatic change.

Driven by a deep need to understand the impact on society of 3,000 commercial messages a day, he gathered three Masters degrees, exploring consumerism and its alternatives from every angle.

In 2014, he co-founded the New Citizenship Project to bring the resulting ideas into contact with reality. In Citizens, he is ready to share them with the world.

ARIANE CONRAD has built a career turning big ideas into books that change the world. Known as the Book Doula, she has co-written several New York Times bestsellers.

BRIAN ENO is an artist, philosopher and Citizen who has played a critical part in British culture since the early 1970s. He is a deep believer in the power of ideas and the possibility of a better world, beliefs which manifest both in his audio and visual art, and in his deep engagement with social, political and environmental issues.