Central London Humanists

September's Book is Democracy and Its Crisis by A. C. Grayling "Prompted by events in recent years in the UK and the USA, in Latin America, Russia and the Middle East, A. C. Grayling investigates why the institutions of representative democracy seem unable to sustain themselves against forces they were designed to manage, and why it matters. In each of five short chapters, he considers a moment in history in which the challenges we face today were first encountered, how they were overcome - or not - and with what consequences. With the advent of authoritarian leaders and the simultaneous rise of populism, representative democracy appears to be caught between a rock and a hard place, yet it is this space that it must occupy, argues Grayling, if a civilized society, that looks after all its people, is to flourish." While we are very social and welcoming, the book group's primary focus is on discussing books. Feel free to turn up if you haven't managed to finish this month's book but note that the group works best when we have all read at least some of the book and are prepared to share our opinions. Katia:[masked] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- We kindly ask for £3 cash per head to help cover the costs of our speaker meetings, venue hire, our annual Meetup subscription fees, and the CLHG membership of various international humanist bodies. The collection is made during each meeting. You can also make an online donation (https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=ZWCNRJ25BDL96) at any time. Events are advertised on multiple online portals, and through email, so the RSVP numbers on any one portal will not reflect the actual greater attendance on the day. We encourage dialogue, debate and sharing of information on our site but ask people to keep their comments cordial. Any views expressed here are those of the individual posting them and may not reflect those of the CLHG.