THE WISE DEMOCRACY PATTERN LANGUAGE

Envision and co-create a deeply participatory culture that generates policies and activities that support the longterm quality of life.

OUR PRIME DIRECTIVE

We seek to appreciate, evoke and engage the wisdom and resourcefulness of the whole on behalf of the whole.

To learn more about our Wise Democracy Prime Directive click here.

Image-Credit: Yevgen Belich – Shutterstock

OUR PRIMARY TOOL

This Wise Democracy Pattern Language highlights dynamic factors and design principles which can make an activity, organization or community more wisely self-governing.

Based on hundreds of real-life innovations, this evolving database of wise democracy “patterns” helps us understand, re-imagine and transform the ways we manage our shared world.

Order your card deck
You can now buy a beautiful boxed set of version 2.0 pattern cards and support materials here.  Version 2.0 is also available for free download here.

Image-Credit: Martin Rausch

The Evolution of 3D Wise Democracy
& Introductory Videos

Venn Animation

This brief animated video illustrates the progressive integration of power, participation and wisdom.

Duration: 1.20 min / To read more view 3D Wise Democracy

PlayPlay
Venn Animation
Brief introduction to our Wise Democracy Pattern Language - 1.47 min
PlayPlay
This brief video introduces you to the features of this website.
Duration 1.47 min
Brief introduction to our Wise Democracy Pattern Language - 1.47 min
Martin and Tom introducing our Wise Democracy Pattern Language
PlayPlay
Tom Atlee introducing our Wise Democracy Pattern Language
Duration 8 min
Martin and Tom introducing our Wise Democracy Pattern Language

Key Concepts

Our WISE DEMOCRACY PATTERN LANGUAGE is a set of things to keep in mind while developing a wisely self-managed activity, group, organization, community, network, or society.

A PATTERN is a design element or principle that promotes vitality and wholesomeness in a specific realm of human activity and that can show up in many different forms. For more on this definition see link.

A PATTERN LANGUAGE is an interrelated set of design guidelines created to help people working in its specific domain to contribute in life-serving ways. For more on this definition see link.

DEMOCRACY is self-governance, especially collective decision-making and action of, by and for those affected or “the people” generally. For more on this definition see link.

A WISE DEMOCRACY is a form of participatory self-governance that routinely creates and implements wise guidance in its public affairs. For more on this definition see link.

COLLECTIVE WISDOM is ongoing collective responsiveness to shared challenges and opportunities that takes into account what needs to be taken into account for long-term broad benefit. For more on this definition, see link.

Your Guide to
Wise Democracy Theory and
This Pattern Language

To Explore 3D Wise Democracy Theory

Our 3D Wise Democracy theory considers how power, participation and wisdom manifest – and can be increased and integrated – in democratic systems. It also explores how, while we minimize collective folly, we can enhance collective wisdom and our collective capacity to learn together as we go. To read more, click here.

To Get Started with the Patterns

If you’d like to scan over all 96 patterns to get a sense of what this “pattern language” covers, visit the alphabetical “Pattern List” OR visit the patterns sorted into our seven “Category Questions”. To go deeper into any pattern, just click on its link.

To Explore the Illustrated Pattern Cards

Many people enjoy exploring an illustrated version of the patterns with a brief description of each one. We have created a set of illustrated pattern cards you can DOWNLOAD or scan through in a SLIDE SHOW on the pattern list page. You can print out the cards or buy a preprinted boxed set to do exercises and play games like these with them.

To Use the Pattern Language to Explore and Evaluate Democratic Practices

This Wise Democracy Pattern Language provides ways to evaluate and think through democratic practices using important considerations like Diversity, Multiple Perspectives, Equity, Citizen-Stakeholder Integration, and Experts on Tap (not on top). You can read an example of such an analysis, exploring the strengths and weaknesses of Austria’s Civic Councils compared to a more common form of public hearings here. You can also use the pattern cards to apply the patterns to specific situations and projects.

To Explore Pattern Languages (in General)

The first pattern language was published in 1977 for architects and community designers. Its ingenious approach to studying vibrant living systems inspired the creation of pattern languages for other human challenges. To learn more about the history of the original pattern language, click here. To learn about a few other key pattern languages, click here.

Image Credit: Boondocks – Pixabay

Check out the “Three Key Assumptions” this project is based on.

21st Century Problems

Choosing and Improving

The Diversity Key

FIRST ASSUMPTION

We assume that our societies need – and that visitors to this site want – a wiser democracy – that is, a participatory system for generating collective wisdom to guide ourselves in meeting 21st century challenges.  We also assume that to the extent we don’t have a wise democracy – given what’s unfolding in our world – we will continue to be in increasingly big trouble, individually and collectively.

SECOND ASSUMPTION

We assume that to the extent we can identify and understand the factors that would make a society both democratic and collectively wise, we can look over existing initiatives and innovations and choose and improve what could help us create a wise democracy, as well as creating new initiatives to also serve that purpose.

THIRD ASSUMPTION

We assume that something this big cannot be achieved by any one person, group or network.  It will need to be taken up as a passionate calling and commitment by widely diverse people, groups, and networks all guided by understandings like those noted in Assumption 2 and reworking those understandings together as they learn together from experience.

Image Credit: pixel2013 / valeriiaarnaud / Rawpixel.com – Pixabay/Shutterstock

IS THIS FOR REAL?

WHO IS THIS FOR?

WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR?

WHAT DOES IT COVER?

WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY ‘WISDOM’?

WHAT DOES THE ‘3D’ REFER TO?

WHY IS THIS A ‘PATTERN LANGUAGE’?

HOW CAN I EXPLORE AND USE ALL THIS?

Image by Courtesy of The Office for Future Related Issues in Vorarlberg Austria

Donate What Feels Right

Dear friends of the wise democracy vision,

This site has been created by the passion and care of Tom Atlee and Martin Rausch. Creating version 1.0 was a full-time 9 month common journey. Version 2.0 has involved us in a similar six month labor of love.

If you are using this site and its deck of pattern cards – or if you are simply inspired to support this project – we invite you to donate what feels right for you on our donation page.  (You can click here for some thoughts from Frederic Laloux on choosing how much to give.)

Your donation will help us expand our work to promote this vision of an increasingly wise participatory society.

Coheartedly and thank you,
Martin and Tom

DONATE WHAT FEELS RIGHT

Testimonials

Integrating even a portion of what Tom Atlee shares on Wise Democracy, will greatly improve our ability to realize our highest aspirations and potential. I suggest reading a pattern daily for reflection and experimenting. – Steve Waddell, PhD, MBA

Networking Action

Tom Atlee helps us envision, in amazing detail, how we can shape democracy we believe in because we are creating it together. – Frances Moore Lappé, author of Diet for a Small Planet and EcoMind

Small Planet Website

Tom Atlee shows us how we can harness our collective wisdom to discern the way forward in these complex and challenging times.  Inspiring and highly recommended! – William Ury, co-author, GETTING TO YES and author, THE THIRD SIDE

William Ury Website

What Tom Atlee is writing about is just about the most important thing that’s happening at the beginning of the 21st century. – Paul H. Ray, Ph.D., co-author of The Cultural Creatives

Cultural Creatives Website

Incredible resource. Thanks for putting it together. I’m looking forward to taking it to the areas that I work and advocate in.  I think our species is at risk, and I absolutely see the value in the work you’ve been doing. Over the years, it’s consistently been the only thing that has ever made sense to me as a way to address those challenges. I watched the webinar tour you did and was inspired to re-engage. Thank you. – Dan Gooden

Tom Atlee offers a fresh and penetrating perspective on the creation of a wise democracy.  His pattern language work expands and connects our understandings of power, participation, and wisdom into a new and compelling synthesis for making a difference in today’s challenged world. – Juanita Brown and David Isaacs

The World Cafe