Margaret Atwood on Democracy, Citizenship, and Dystopian Fiction
In conversation with Andrew Keen
Since its origins, democracy has been a work in progress. Today, many question its resilience. The Bertelsmann Foundation, Institute for Canadian Citizenship, and Humanity in Action have teamed up with Andrew Keen, author of How to Fix the Future, for Season Three of How to Fix Democracy: a video and podcast series exploring practical responses to the threats facing democracies around the world. Host Andrew Keen interviews prominent thinkers, writers, politicians, technologists, and business leaders who enlighten and challenge us as we seek the answers to How to Fix Democracy.
In this conversation, Margaret Atwood, award-winning author of numerous best-sellers, including the 1985 novel The Handmaid’s Tale, and host Andrew Keen discuss Margaret’s impressions of citizenship and the importance of fiction writers in a democracy. Dystopias, Atwood says, show us the future if we do not correct the mistakes of the present, and so writers of dystopian fiction aid democracies by showing the consequences of inaction.
This series is made possible with the kind support of the William H. Donner Foundation.
