What would Plato do?

You're invited to this gathering of minds wrestling with a question as urgent today as it was 2,400 years ago: Can democracy survive itself? On July 26, I’ll be joining a powerful lineup of speakers at Democracy and Tyranny, a virtual event hosted by the Plato’s Academy Centre.

The topic? How ancient philosophy—Plato, the Stoics, and others—can help us confront the political and cultural chaos of our time.

Plato didn’t just question democracy. He watched it collapse. He saw how freedom, when unanchored from virtue and reason, could spiral into mob rule, division, and tyranny.

Sound familiar?

The stakes today are real. Civility is collapsing. Institutions are faltering. Public trust is eroding. We don’t just need better policies—we need a stronger civic culture.

In anticipation of the event, Plato’s Academy published an exclusive excerpt from my book Save Your City titled “Civility Flows from the Heart.” It’s not about being nice. It’s about rediscovering the moral glue that holds communities together.

This isn’t just about politics. It’s about whether we still know how to live well together—and whether we care enough to try.

👉 Read the piece and reserve your free spot here: What Would Plato Do?

SPEAKERS INCLUDE:

• Prof. James Romm, Bard College, NY, author of Plato and the Tyrant: The Fall of Greece's Greatest Dynasty and the Making of a Philosophic Masterpiece

• Skippy Mesirow, the Elected Leaders Collective, host of Healing our Politics podcast

• Robert Rosenkrantz, founder of Open to Debate Foundation, author of The Stoic Capitalist: Advice for the Exceptionally Ambitious

• Diane Kalen-Sukra, host of the Cultivating Civility podcast, author Save Your City: How Toxic Culture Kills Community & What to Do About It

• Dr. Roslyn Fuller, the Solonian Democracy Institute, author of Beasts and Gods: How Democracy Changed its Meaning and Lost its Purpose

• Prof. Angie Hobbs, University of Sheffield, author of Why Plato Matters Now