Author and consultant with a passion for
sustainable governance;
honoring America's Covenant to build a Good Society;
and advancing the nation's Constitutional Heritage
[
Home
](home.html)
[
Meet Larry
](meetlarry.html)
[
"American Covenant"
](americancovenant.html)
[
"Sustainable Governance"
](sustainablegovernance.html)
[
What they're saying
](whattheyresaying.html)
[
Consulting Services
](consultingservices.html)
[
Connect with Larry
](connectwithlarry.html)
[
Home
](home.html)
[
Meet Larry
](meetlarry.html)
[
"American Covenant"
](americancovenant.html)
[
"Sustainable Governance"
](sustainablegovernance.html)
[
What they're saying
](whattheyresaying.html)
[
Consulting Services
](consultingservices.html)
[
Connect with Larry
](connectwithlarry.html)
This important book is a must read for anyone interested in governance capable of producing a sustainable society---one that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
About Sustainable Governance: Renewing the Search by LawrenceW. Arrington and Herbert A. Marlowe, Jr.
Justice Louis Brandeis in the midst of the Great Depression wisely labeled states and the local communities that comprise them..."laboratories of democracy." This book takes us inside these laboratories using the "bellwether" state of Florida as a case study, and views governance through the lens of the theory of sustainability. The result is a revealing look at how American politics and governance are playing out "on the ground" as the state struggles with the "mega-trends" facing the United States and the developed world.
The authors' core argument is that the ambition to develop a "sustainable society" will fail unless the processes of governance are capable of producing sustainable results. The lodestar of governance must become the over-arching goal of sustainability: meeting the environmental, social and economic needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Sustainability requires that arch-conservative ideology give way to reliance on democratic decision-making grounded in practicality and necessity. A sense of community identity and civic responsibility must be rekindled.
Sustainable governance---given Florida's diversity and complexity---requires a de-centralized approach balancing the economic, environmental and social interests of whole regions. New governance arrangements and practices that implement innovative public policies are necessitated. Transformative public leadership aligned with the needs, aspirations and values of citizens--- not narrow special interests---must be exercised.
About the Authors: Lawrence Arrington is a former County Manager of Volusia County, Fla. He received his Bachelor and Master of Arts degrees in political science from Stetson University. Herbert Marlowe is a former member of the research faculty at the University of Florida, where he received his undergraduate and doctorate degrees. Together they provide consulting services to public, non-profit, and private sector clients throughout Florida.
Sustainable Governance: Renewing the Search is available in Ebook in PDF format at the price of $14.95. The ebook will be delivered via email with instructions for downloading immediately following purchase.
Questions should be directed to:
[Arrington.larry@gmail.com](mailto:Arrington.larry@gmail.com).
Key Excerpts from Sustainable Governance: Renewing the Search
Lincoln's example teaches that reconciliation of America's conflicts and contradictions requires t
ransformative leadership. The appearance of such leadership is extraordinary, and requires a confluence of crisis with leaders of superior quality at the helm. This explains why the unity of consensus on complex and divisive issues is very difficult to attain; and why, tragically, the -- better angels of our nature -- come to guide our collective life only after much suffering brings the nation to its knees and forces the question: what do we truly value?
"Sustainability requires a civil society comprised of citizens self organizing through time, growing in vibrancy and power, fully adapting to the collective challenges faced, empowering our public institutions when necessary for the common good, restraining them when not. This image embraces the meaning of sustainable governance and citizenship. This is the definition of a sustainable society, the place sought when the American experiment with democracy began, and the place where we can only hope the search will end.
"The failure of the American people to rise to the occasion as a nation united, to transcend fear, to put aside anger and to muster the courage to be a world leader by example could unleash forces that will de-stabilize economies and political systems worldwide, sparking much hardship and violence. If the fear turns into terror, the prime enemy of the nation and the world---those who advocate, sponsor and commit acts of terrorism out of hatred---will be victorious.
"Demanded now is a new political consensus in support of a new vision for a sustainable society; Florida is a microcosm of the broad forces and trends driving this necessity for sustainable governance and may provide hints useful to understanding the direction of the nation as a whole.
"The requirements of a turning away from the present direction strike at the heart of the state's political system. Campaign finance and lobbying reforms, prohibition of gerrymandering as new legislative districts are created, revisiting term limits and length of terms for elected officials, election laws that ensure fairness and accessibility for all voters and other changes to the mechanics of the political system will be needed. But much more is demanded: the soul of the body politic must be stirred for a meaningful and sustainable change of direction to occur. There is perhaps no stronger generator of this stirring than a cold, hard confrontation with the real world dynamics and consequences of the present course.
"The reconciliation of the cauldron of conflicting needs, aspirations and values grounded in both sides of our contradictory nature is the central challenge to public leadership and to the nation's soul. This is what Lincoln likely was referring to during his first inaugural address on the eve of the Civil War. He expressed hope that unity would prevail over division through 'the better angels of our nature' taking hold and protecting Americans of that day from themselves. The better angels come to us as we stop projecting the blame for our fears onto others, and recognize that we are all ridden with deficiencies and in need of the healing power of unity that only democracy practiced well normally can bring."
Here's what others are saying about
Sustainable Governance: Renewing the Search:
Too often elected officials and administrators operate in a "small picture world" working to solve problems incrementally on a short-term basis devoid of the broader "big picture" aspects of the policy process. Using the bellwether state of Florida as a case study, Arrington and Marlowe demonstrate that the problems facing Florida and the nation as a whole are systemic and deeply rooted in culture and history. Drawing upon their extensive governmental experience, they weave theory and "best practices" together in crafting the outline of a role of governance equal to the task of forging sustainable solutions to the massive public problems of the present. -- T. Wayne Bailey, Professor of Political Science, Stetson University
Justice Louis Brandeis famously referred to the states of the Union, and their constituent communities, as "laboratories of democracy". Arrington and Marlowe are skilled scientists in those laboratories. Their ethical passion, their evident faith in democracy and their keen powers of perception are on display in this work. Their conclusions are based on observed outcomes, not preconceptions. These conclusions are particularly well-supported in their survey of the foreseeable wreckage of Florida's fiscal planning, and the related manipulations and results of its land use policies. Their call to a new or rediscovered form of sustainable governance, balancing the economic, environmental and social interests of whole regions, is a realistic challenge to return to ancient civic virtues. -- C. Allen Watts, Attorney, Former President, 1000 Friends of Florida
This book has changed the way I think about public policy. -- Dr. Larry Martin, Professor of Public Administration, University of Central Florida.
This book describes Florida politics and governance in a timely and accurate way. The authors rightly portray the forces and trends affecting Florida as harbingers of things to come for America. It is well-researched and written with care, balance and compassion. Every responsible citizen should read it. -- Sam Bell, former House Majority Leader, Florida House of Representatives, and Chair of the Local Government Study Commission
'This book connects with the best of American governance and interprets present challenges facing leaders, using the theory of sustainability as a guide. The authors point the way to the quality of public leadership, policy and administration required to build sustainable communities. Every public manager and policy-maker will benefit from reading it. And every interested citizen will learn from it." -- -Dr. Thomas C. Kelly, former county manager, recipient of the Distinguished Service Award, International City Management Association
Just in time to save us from ourselves, Larry Arrington and Herb Marlowe have given us a roadmap�and a few dire predictions for a state that is running amok. If only our future governors and legislators would read it and respond. - Lucy Morgan, St. Petersburg Times, Tallahassee Bureau Chief (Ret)
The book is a cogent explanation of how Florida got to where it is today. Government caters to an economy that doesn't work any more, natural resources are disappearing and many Floridians believe their quality of life is endangered.
For anyone who watched politics in the past decade and wondered what happened, it's a relief to have someone interpret the tea leaves. If you ever wondered why citizens seem so angry, politicians seem so nasty and the state of Florida seems to be sinking into the abyss, this book is for you. - Pamela Hasterok, Daytona Beach News Journal
Sustainable Governance: Renewing the Search is a must read that citizens, government, business, and civic leaders can use to create the "governance" system necessary for us to establish sustainability as a guiding dictum for our future policies in growth management, economic development, and provision of governmental services. It also should be used by students pursuing degrees in political science, public administration and planning.
Arrington and Marlowe clearly demonstrate how our economy, environment and social institutions are fundamentally interconnected in an integrated system that we must protect by developing a sustainable system of governance. The reader concludes the book knowing that we must accomplish transformational change if we are to insure the highest quality of life for future generations. - Mike Abels, former City Manager and Professor of Public Administration, University of Central Florida
(c) 2010 Lawrence W. Arrington
[Web Hosting](http://ads.networksolutions.com/landing?code=P61C100S1N0B142A1D255E0000V100) powered by Network Solutions®
