Control

It's hard to shake the feeling that we've lost controlof the things that matter most in our lives. Our politics is fragmenting, ourhousehold finances are precarious and a new class of billionaire technocrats isconsolidating its grip on power. In the face of such uncertainty, how can we -as citizens, parents, friends and neighbours - regain our autonomy and rebuilda brighter, fairer future? In Control, Claire Ainsley argues that addressingthis profound loss of agency over the forces shaping our lives is the centralchallenge of our time. She identifies how the pressures of global capital,rapid technological 'progress' and weakened political autonomy have leftgovernments struggling to deliver and citizens increasingly disenfranchised. Inthis gap between expectation and reality, voters' trust is eroded, generalanxiety spirals and populist narratives gain traction by exploiting society'sbase fears. Drawing on such diverse fields as psychology andpolitical strategy, as well as her own experience of policymaking inWestminster, Ainsley proposes a new 'philosophy of control' to better equip us- as individuals and as a society - to take on the myriad challenges of ourtime. We can only break the political deadlock and navigate our collectivemalaise, Ainsley argues, by taking back control from all-powerful markets andhamstrung states, unlocking our individual freedoms in the process. Robust in its analysis and hopeful in its proposals, Controloffers a practical roadmap for rebuilding trust in democracy by putting peopleback in the driving seat of their own lives.