Reviews

“This book radiates 7th Tier world views — I strongly recommend it.”

Dr Don Edward Beck, Texas

“If you are wondering where society should go next then the New Magna Carta is a great book to read. Of course ideas will evolve as we don’t really know where we will end up. I am looking forward to revisions and perhaps even contributing a little.”

Jon Twigge, England

“Thanks Nicholas! Time to dust off that sturdy framework for a more integral update…and this hits the mark in an evolutionary way. Cheers!!!”

Douglas R. Wallack, USA

“The NEW MAGNA CARTA by Dr. Beecroft is a book of many layers, and of course each reader responds according to personal experiences, expectations and values. Personally I found deep satisfaction in Dr. Beecroft’s positive worldview, which is happily refreshing as opposed to the prevailing mood of gloom and doom as far as mankind views the future. Dr.Beecroft is not about to accept the general belief that civilization is on its way to extinction and he offers not only hope, but a workable plan. The book was apparently written in the same spirit as the well-known and remarkable Franciscan monk of Hungary, Brother Csaba (Böjte) remarked, “When alarm bells are ringing, when the troops of the enemy are at the gates, it is impossible to establish marriages, have children, engage in meaningful work, or to plan for the future. It is time to give up the panic and the whining and start working to better the situation.” Mankind is indeed in great need of encouragement and also of plenty of work, and with generosity Dr. Beecroft is providing plans for both.
At the same time he poses meaningful questions to serve as tools for a fair comparison between our civilization and other cultures or other nations. Some of the questions the reader can answer with confidence, but at other questions it appears that indeed there is plenty of work to be done to reach the ideal, or at least something close to it. This approach not only helps to evaluate fairly our own situation, but it practically spells out the kind of culture, in which a future society could feel safe, happy and fulfilled. This approach is so valuable and so in need that I feel THE NEW MAGNA CARTA ought to be required reading in all social studies and political science courses.”

Judith Petres Balogh, Hungary

“This book unfolded one surprise after another, and it left me feeling quite optimistic. It is an integrated collection of well-reasoned values and rules to live by.

While there are lots of books by erudite authors proposing a more balanced and holistic way of life, there isn’t another book like this in my experience. Here we have a psychiatrist who has examined our fears, hurts, and anxieties collectively as ‘The West’. He has found what is sensible and delivered it in the plainest way. The editing is a thing of beauty; I hope the greatest number of people experience solace and a pride in belonging such as I felt.

Dr. Beecroft proposes changes to our healthcare systems that if implemented would go a long way to solving many social problems. Separately, he proposes a mechanism whereby military leaders can express their true opinions without fear of ruining their pensions. He offers us a mindset to transcend our differences such a race, sexual orientation, or religion whereby we can be authentic at all times and escape from our collective trap.

Beecroft teaches us how to deeply relax once a day, at minimum. We can see and feel the New Magna Carta; it is what is pulling us forward. We must let go of toxic, unhealthy and destructive thought patterns, but we can do it on a grand scale.”

John, USA

“Dr. Beecroft has integrated his broad range of academic and practical learning into an ideal roadmap for the healthy emergence of Western civilization. There is certainly room for debate regarding many of the problems, solutions, and ideal visions he offers. He candidly expects and invites this debate, as a means of improving this roadmap. Readers are invited to go to the book’s webpage and make improvements.

The author’s preceding book, Analyze West was a very engaging read. The New Magna Carta does not reach out in a similar way; it does not take us thru a personal journey of insight, discovery and familiar social tensions. The reader who wants a good time with a book should pick up Analyze West. That reader should not pick up The New Magna Carta. In this book you will find long lists of serious, fundamental questions, choices we must make as a society and culture. These questions are not easy to grapple with. They do not drop one into the one clear answer, and leave the reader free to enjoy the next peak on the roller coaster. In total, this book is seriously perturbing. Perturbations lead to change. This book is for readers who know the value of being perturbed.

The New Magna Carta draws the readers’ attention to almost every serious concern present in Western Civilization. It will foreground the readers’ attractions and aversions. It will reveal how issues are interconnected, and how the readers’ positions may not be. It will expose bias, prejudice and even blindness. It will point to where and where not wisdom and compassion are at play. This is not a story from A to B; this is a workbook that if absorbed and processed seriously, will change the reader.

It is likely that only a few people will have the courage and capacity to take on the project this book invites one in to. In an ideal world this would be a sad thing; wouldn’t it be best if everyone stood back and saw the territory more clearly, and made up, free from the momentum of history, the best decisions possible? But this is not an ideal world, this is the real world. Those with capacity will see the power to bring healthy change that The New Magna Carta offers. Those without this capacity will do what they do, and in total, as has always happened, humanity will continue its slow pace towards our still unclear Omega. Thank you Dr. Beecroft for this nudge forward.”

Tom Christensen, USA

“I am English but grew up in the US so I learned about the US Constitution both in high school and at university. I am filled with admiration for the founding fathers for setting out the values and guiding principles for their new country in such a simple eloquent and adaptable document. That constitution drew on ideas previously set out in the Magna Carta but being at the birth of the nation it was forward looking and less about restraining the ills of the past.

Beecroft has taken a similar, forward looking approach and produced a well organised and highly detailed document looking at the key points around nationhood and citizenship, how people relate to each other, their country and how countries should interact with each other. Although the organisation of the book makes it appear almost as “reference” material, it is none-the-less, quite gripping reading as a “heaven on Earth” is described.

This book is remarkable in many ways and it seems to bridge many divides so well that it is hard to see where the actual joins are or divisions were. Any book that discusses how to organise society is inherently political, but regardless of where one is on the political spectrum, it would be hard to disagree with much if anything presented here. Where one’s instincts might recoil at a suggestion, the argument in support is sufficient to allow acceptance so that all should be able to see a better more holistic future.

The book also bridges humanity with science, embracing instinct, spirituality and all the clever things people have managed to achieve through their intellect and technology. Without ever getting “new agey” the author shows us how we can value, gut instincts, old wisdom and all that is new and modern.

I found Beecroft’s previous publications uphill work and was always left with a sense that this was work in progress, the raw research for ideas that would eventually be distilled, organised and presented in a better way. To me The New Magna Carta is the culmination of that journey. The reader is still asked to think and question what is presented and no claim is made for this to be the final word on the subject, but for anyone interested in how we can make life better for individuals and the nation as a whole this is a fantastic treatise that combines insights from a range of disciplines.”

Toby Lewis, England

“It is difficult to imagine a more timely book than Dr Nicholas Beecroft’s New Magna Carta. For one thing, its publication coincides with the 800th anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta – an event that seismically reoriented Western civilization towards freedom. But there is another more important sense in which this book comes at the right time. While I was helping with the editing of The New Magna Carta, 17 people were murdered by terrorists in Paris. The issues that underlie the Charlie Hebdo massacre – freedom of speech, mass migration and historical guilt – are at the heart of a crisis facing Western civilization. Many writers and commentators have attempted to diagnose that crisis, but few achieve the forensic insight of this book, and still fewer put forward any realistic solutions to the immense problems we are facing. By contrast, The New Magna Carta is a waterfall of solutions. Not, glib, dogmatic or preachy, but practical, rooted in a deep analysis of our cultural situation, and, most importantly, open to debate and improvement. Dr Beecroft explains, early on, that the publication of the book is just the starting point for an on-going public discussion. And, for me, that is one of the most exciting things about this book. In a world where freedom of thought and expression are being shut down at every turn, nothing could be more powerful than inviting your readers to hack your ideas.”

Matthew, UK & Poland

“I read Analyze West by Nicholas Beecroft last year and I found it interesting and thought-provoking. At the end of that book, he said he would be writing an updated version of the Magna Carta. So, I’ve been waiting for it with interest. I’ve now read New Magna Carta and I can say that the two books are very different in approach, but definitely go together as a pair. Analyze West takes the form of a story – basically, a character representing Western civilization undergoes therapy. New Magna Carta is a straighforward description of how we could go about changing Western society – and ourselves – so that we are better prepared for the future. So you could see this is as the course of treatment for Western civilization – some practical advice addressing the problems raised in the first book. Look at the contents page and you will see that the areas covered by the book are very diverse – everything from defence to reproduction. I tend to dip into it, picking themes that interest me on a particular day, and I always come away feeling a lot more positive about the future. We could all do with a bit of that at the moment, I guess.”

S.K, Poland

“If you have read “Analyze West” you will understand the reason why Dr. Beecroft composed these rules for getting around our new, turbulent, global world. In that previous book he described the dramatic and bewildering complexity that surrounds Western Civilization today. The 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta of 1215 AD was a plausible kick-off point for showcasing an updated rule-book. Here, now, in his latest opus you will find a tightly packed summary of what he suggests as proper demeanor in 21st century human intercourse. While he believes Western Civilization to be the most enlightened available, he correctly insists on the ground rule that the New Magna Carta must not be Western, but rather global in perspective.

As you peruse the text you will probably end up subscribing to nearly all of his recommendations. Quite likely more than 90% of people in the West would support them and only a little less elsewhere. Such worldwide confluence of moral and behavioral standards is reassuring in an age where all nations gather ever closer as neighbors. Certainly, for those of us who believe in the eventual necessity of a global federation, a moral and cultural rapprochement would be a welcome building stone.

The New Magna Carta is meant as an invitation for readers to ponder about and contribute their own ideas to this pioneering concept. As a catalyst of forward-looking thought it should generate a spate of fertile ideas. Just think of what ingenious brains might come up with when facing the fact that many nations will permanently flunk the democracy test and are therefore searching for an alternate type of responsible government. How do we make authoritarian governments responsible? How do we improve democracy?”

Peter Nennhaus, USA

“Exactly 800 years ago, in 1215, King John of England was forced to sign the Magna Carta, a document that defined the basic rights and freedoms of the nobles and clergy. Largely forgotten for most of the following years, an extended and enlarged version of the same, serves as a reminder today of the right of the people to hold the monarch and government to account.

The old Magna Carta was exported around the world and its guiding principles can be found incorporated in the law of many countries, including the Declaration of Human Rights. “Its’ core values of freedom, rights and justice have remained the same over the centuries, being as valid today as they were 800 years ago”.

Today we have a scenario where people are more aware of their rights than ever before. As multiple authority figures stumble and fall, and weakened power structures crumble due to persistent and insidious corruption, it is time to question, as a member of the human race, “Where do we stand? What is it that drives us? What are our priorities?” among others.

“The purpose of the New Magna Carta is to make this inner map and compass explicit and to recommend the next upgrade”.

In an earlier book called “Analyse West”, Dr. Nicholas Beecroft dwelt on the problems that ail Western Civilization. This was done by personifying Western Civilization as a patient of depression called West, who visits a maverick psychologist called James Hill. West is very unsure of his bona fides, so James has to find ways to give him confidence in his motives and his actions. As the story unfolds, West, having confronted and integrated all parts of himself, including those that triggered self doubt and criticism within him, gathers a large number of international dignitaries to a conference on rephrasing the old Magna Carta. A detailed version of those suggestions, geared to create a sea change in our appraisal of ourselves as individuals coming together to form the renewed and revitalized human race, and how we can engage in activities more akin to our real nature, is the subject of this book.

The changes envisaged for a society, according to the new Magna Carta, which is where we are going, are not exactly miniscule. A Tectonic Shift would be more appropriate. According to the author, “The frozen ice will melt, bringing long dormant forces back to life. Solutions that have been waiting in the wings will come quickly to the fore…As things unravel, unforeseen events will trigger a chain reaction which will unleash forces beyond our control.”

The need for this kind of earth shaking change to our society that many say is on the cards is that “The core wound of our civilization is dehumanization due to materialism…Science and capitalism.. have neglected and undervalued those things we can measure, e.g., love, care, security, peace and so on…Many organizations treat human beings as if they were cogs in a machine…..Medicine excels in technical areas, but forgets the basics, care, sleep, diet, rest, healing. This dehumanization pervades all aspects of life”.

In this very content rich book, the author examines all conceivable levels of society to combat this super technological, super secular mindset of our institutions, pointing out, at different levels of consciousness, the shifts in attitude, that this kind of overhauling of human values involves. The author puts it very beautifully in the following words,”We all have an inner shining §light…(that) is usually hidden under a personality, uniform or lots of activity. (The challenge is to) love one another by regarding the being (of light) in another and acting accordingly.” The way to go, according to the author, is to be guided by your heart in making decisions, cultivating peace and gratitude and following your intuition in reading situations.

An important pitfall to be aware of and avoid is the victim-rescuer consciousness that contravenes the positive feelings of peace and gratitude that right action instills in us. Also “hopelessness, cynicism and low expectations are a self fulfilling prophecy. There is a wealth of scientific evidence to show that positive thinking and optimism are an adaptive strategy for life”.

. A comprehensive discussion of the levels at which change is required and how to implement it is beyond the scope of this already long review. Suffice it to say that the value systems of all walks of society, e.g. medicine, religion, family, schooling, knowledge, sexuality among others are taken up. The goal is a world in which all living beings work together in harmony like the cells in a living organism, while feeling blessed for doing so.

There have been other books in the market about the prophesied changes to the earth and its people. This book could occupy a pride of place among them since the mindset required to meet the calamities predicted for human civilization is analyzed. This book describes lucidly, the appropriate system for optimal performance, without recourse to so-called mystical concepts, depending instead on the linkages between our senses and the choices that we make. Hence it could also appeal to those with a rational sceptical bent of mind, compared to one with a more open outlook. The readability of this book (for me) is 8.5-9.0 on a scale of 10.

Strongly recommended to one and all. ”

Bani Sodermark, India

“In 1215, England’s King John was forced by nobleman to sign the Magna Carta, the historical document transforming England from an absolute monarchy to a democracy. This document is up there along with the U.S. Declaration of Independence and Constitution, in the pursuit of human rights. This year, 2015, we are observing the 800th anniversary of the signing.

Dr. Nicholas Beecroft, a psychiatrist and author of Analyze West, in which this New Magna Carta is proposed, has now released the book fully dedicated to this subject.

The world has reached a focal point where all its problems have converged, where every problem that is possible has arisen, all at the same time, and we, as the human race, especially the West, have come to this point and we cannot handle all of this at once. No culture in the world can, but Beecroft especially focuses on the West, because, despite its faults, and there are many, it is the freest of all the world’s civilizations, and is the place where people from all other cultures can not only come and find refuge, but can start new lives and prosper. However, the West itself, especially Europe and the United States (the author is British) are in serious trouble as societies, on all fronts.

I would like to point out that being a psychiatrist, Dr. Beecroft wrote this book as a combination of a self-help book, that is, having the individual look at himself, his faults, and how he can deal with them, and how they relate to society as a whole. Simultaneously, he looks at society, the main theme, with its faults, each chapter covering a certain category, headed by questions and attempts to answer them.

In Chapter 2 section 3, he points out basically all the major problems we have in a nutshell, from self-hatred, to corruption, desecrating the environment, animal factories, economics, the debt and the expanding gap between rich and poor, foreign policy, climate change, it’s all there. There are many, and we can’t handle them all.

What Dr. Beecroft does in the next 24 chapters (there are 26 in all) is take the major problems we have, asks questions on what is wrong and how they can be dealt with, and then analyzes them and tries to come up with some solutions, or at least ways we can fairly deal with these problems. There is no magic bullet, and Beecroft knows this.

These chapters are brief, and they are straight forward and makes no qualms about them. He respects both liberals and conservatives (left and right) points out them virtues and their faults, and takes the best of each side and applies them, i.e. what works and what doesn’t work.

There are no total solutions to our problems where we can become a Utopia, or have world peace, and that’s not the point. The author does point out way we can deal with these problems for maximum benefit and minimum detriment. Unforeseen events do arise, and will continue to do so. The proper reaction to all this is to rise to the challenge, and they are challenges. When we do, we will fulfill our potential, in both society and the individual.

In Chapter 5, Section 11, Dr. Becroft, gives a description of “Create Heaven on Earth, Starting Now.” He describes how in the rest of the book. In a nutshell, here is the way in which the major problems of the West should be handled.

First, we all must remember that there is no one set of solutions, no one size fits all, because each community is different, and each one must find their own unique way of dealing with their local problem, be it education or law enforcement.

There must be proper leadership, the key being to treat people, all people, like human beings. One racism, no discrimination, no persecution of those different from us. We must overcome our hatreds and tribal ancestry, and leave our wars and persecutions in the past. Each person’s religion is his own, but can be criticize from without. That must be accepted by all. Truth must prevail and fraud must be punished.

If used correctly, power does not always corrupt, and leadership isn’t always bad, though many people say otherwise. There shall be no special privileges for any individual, group, or business entity, though creativity, entrepreneurship and experimental endeavors should be enhanced. There will be zero tolerance for bullying, violence, violation (e.g. rape), abuse, and corruption. Punishments are to be administered to deter future crimes, with no leniency, but no cruelty, either.

With freedom come rights and responsibilities. There should be no corporate influence in government (one of the biggest problems we have today), but no freeloaders, either, and no giving away resources to corporate interests or foreign powers. There should be a separation of Corporation and State, with no corporate donations to political campaigns, just individuals, to a maximum of about $7,500 in 2015 dollars. Welfare would only be for those who need it, like the sick and the elderly, not to those who simply don’t want to work. We must be stewards of the environment, develop alternative energy to fossil fuels, and develop space.

Lastly, we need to have a good military that keeps waste at a minimal, not the military-industrial complex, a good foreign policy where we fully respect the rights and wishes of other countries, and never get into a war unless it is absolutely necessary. We do have a duty to protect other countries who both need and request it.

All of this is a lot to swallow, but this is fairly divided into 26 short chapters, each with its own category of above mentioned subjects. In the beginning of each one, questions relating to the problems we now face are ask, and each chapter attempts to answer them and provide a solution.

These are the problems that the U.S., the West, and the World face today, and many of these proposed solutions or ideas are not being applied because of either fear of the unknown, or that applying these ideas will cost huge sums of money, money that many individuals with clout (and wealth) do not want to spend.

What these people fail to see is that many of these ideas are investments that will pay off by way of a more stable world. If that isn’t enough, they will turn a profit. For example, fixing the infrastructure will attract more businesses on these fix roads.

This book equally focuses on the individual as well, where, in order to change the world for the better, the individual also has to change his or her outlook on life, from living in the past and wallowing in past wars, hatreds, prejudices, and defeats (and that is a problem), to looking ahead, being willing to work with those who are different from yourself and work towards a better society.

Despite our faults, that is happening, especially in the U.S. with immigration and the mixing of races, which continues to this day. This has to go further, but that is possible. Dr. Beecroft feel that the West, with all its faults, can accomplish this and set an example for the rest of the world. This is the New Magna Carta, not only for England, but for the entire Western Civilization along with the rest of the world.”

Alastair Browne, USA