Shann Turnbull - Patriots vs Elites

SUMMARY:
------------------------------
I’m genuinely excited to share this talk by Dr Shann Turnbull — a thoughtful, practical voice on how we can rebuild democracy from the bottom up. In this clip Shann challenges the way modern societies rely on command-and-control hierarchies across government, business and civil organisations, arguing they produce privilege, alienation and blind obedience. Using vivid natural examples (bees, birds and swarms) he shows how complex systems can organise themselves without top-down control and why we’ve lost that native common sense. Shann draws on decades of work — Democratising the Wealth of Nations (1975), A New Way to Govern Organisations and Society after the Iron Collapse (2002) and recent OECD writing on well-being — to offer an alternative architecture for democracy: dense, local, participatory decision-making that returns power to communities. This talk isn’t an angry rant — it’s a calm, rigorous plea to redesign institutions so people have real voice, agency and wellbeing. If you care about meaningful democratic reform, community power and smarter governance, this is a must-watch.

RUMBLE DESCRIPTION:
-----------------------------------
Welcome — I’m stoked to bring you Dr Shann Turnbull’s presentation on patriots vs elites and, more importantly, on redesigning how power actually works in modern society. Shann is a prolific author and policy thinker (Democratising the Wealth of Nations, 1975; A New Way to Govern Organisations and Society after the Iron Collapse, 2002) and he builds here on recent OECD work about wellbeing and opportunity.

This talk is calm, clear and rich with practical insight. Rather than fury, Shann offers a constructive critique: our institutions — public, private and not-for-profit — mostly operate as command-and-control hierarchies. Those hierarchies concentrate privilege, demand blind obedience, and alienate people from meaningful decision-making. He contrasts that with the natural world — bees, bird flocks and swarms — where complex coordination emerges from the bottom up.

Key takeaways: the architecture of democracy matters; power should be dense and local; we need to relearn collective decision-making and build institutional constitutions that give people a real voice. Shann also touches on privatisation, governance failures and practical steps to redesign organisations for wellbeing.

If you’re interested in democratic reform, community governance, public policy or smarter organisational design, this is essential viewing. Please like, share and tell us what you think in the comments — how would you redesign power in your community? Subscribe for more talks like this and support grassroots ideas for better governance.

⚠️ CONTENT DISCLAIMER ⚠️
The views, opinions, and statements expressed in this video are those of the individual speaker(s) and audience members. They do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or positions of Western Heritage Australia or its affiliates.

This content is presented for educational and informational purposes as well as to facilitate public discourse on important social and political issues. We provide a platform for diverse Australian voices to be heard, to assist the public in forming their own informed opinions.

Western Heritage Australia does not endorse, verify, or take responsibility for the accuracy of statements made by speakers. All claims, statistics, and opinions remain the responsibility of the original speaker. Viewers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult multiple sources when forming opinions on these topics.

This video may contain strong political opinions, controversial viewpoints, strong language, or mature themes. Viewer discretion is advised.