State of the Re:Union’s contributor Peter Block of Abundant Community explains the fiscal soundness behind being neighborly. (To read Peter’s original post, click here.)

We cannot build strong neighborhoods and communities while laboring under the principles of traditional economics. The dominant economic thinking begins with a religious belief in scarcity and self-interest. This rules most modern economies and continues to dominate what we measure and value. We measure our well-being as a nation by the growth of Gross Domestic Product or Gross National Product. We measure our lives and “standard of living” by family income. We have created a “show me the money” culture; if it has no dollar sign on it, it has no value.

1940: Neighbors join in to help dig a well for family who still live in their trailer.

This approach got formalized in 1934 when Simon Kuznets introduced the idea of the Gross Domestic Product to Congress. The GDP is the measure of all the goods and services that change hands in the country in a year. It is the number we use to measure our standard of living. When GDP goes up, we are theoretically doing well. When it goes down, we are doing poorly. That is the theory.

There is a movement to dislodge this measure because it masks the reality of people’s lives.  A growing number of economists are successfully arguing that the scarcity-based, money-centric model is not serving us, but destroying us. It puts no value on generosity, relationship, kindness, cooking, gardening, watching kids and all the non-money exchanges that comprise neighborliness and build community.

One of the voices for an economics of neighborliness is Canadian Mark Anielski. In his book The Economics of Happiness, he gives form to a measure of well-being he calls Genuine Wealth. Early on he quotes Victorian philosopher and artist John Ruskin:
“There is no wealth but life. Life, including all its powers of love, of joy, and of admiration. That country is richest which nourishes the greatest number of noble and happy human beings; that man is richest who, having perfected the functions of his own life to the utmost, has also the widest helpful influence…over the lives of others” (p 19).

Anielski goes on to say that “Ruskin was one of the few writers in modern times to understand that the true meaning of the word wealth has more to do with quality of life than the accumulation of worldly possessions.”

Toward Abundance and Community

What is interesting is that Anielski provides us with alternative measures of well-being. He begins by making the distinction between an Economy of Scarcity and an Economy of Well-Being.

The Economy of Well-Being holds that:
•    All wealth, including money, is abundant since it is a gift from God for all to receive and share.
•    Progress is driven by the pursuit of happiness and genuine well-being.
•    Such progress means that we move from consumer to citizen.
•    We become statesmen instead of politicians.
•    We replace accumulation with sharing, gifting and reciprocity.
•    Sustainability replaces growth (p. 66).

1942: Mrs. Fujita and her neighbor inspecting the tiny vegetable garden she has planted in front of their barracks.

Starting with this set of principles, Anielski has developed an alternative measure to the GDP: what he calls a Genuine Progress Index, GPI. Included in this measure are the very human functions of parenting and eldercare, free time, volunteerism, household infrastructure, savings rate, ecological footprint, air and water quality, fish and wildlife, voter participation — many of the things that John and I say grow out of abundant communities.

Anielski also assesses the usual measures of economic exchanges, employment and income, but they are not the point; they are just some of the factors that constitute the wealth of a family and community.

There is one more turn in his work that is worth noting here: Anielski thinks that each community needs to define for itself what it values and therefore measures. Leduc has its own statement of values and measures. Santa Monica has its own. Alberta its own. In this way an economy is owned locally, defined locally, assessed locally. This supports local identity and ownership.

This book is only one example of the larger movement to put economics back in service of our humanity, which is what Adam Smith held in the first place. A few others in this flow are Bernard Lietaer, Olivia Saunders, the New Economics Institute, Herman Daly and John Kay. They are questioning not only how we measure well-being; they question the purpose of a business, the ways communities are created and they also are interested in caring for the land and the earth and its most vulnerable people. All economists. Who would have thought a concern for abundance would find its way into the world of the dismal science?

There are hordes of people and communities shedding the shroud of “keeping up with the Jones’” because it is becoming too cumbersome. Decades ago, being neighborly determined the communities survival. Being a good neighborly citizen might not appeal to the masses right now, but how can that be changed? and, how do we begin to mobilize this movement forward? A wise man once said, “Won’t you be my neighbor?” Granted, it was Mr. Rogers who dreamed big and believed even bigger that everyone should live in a neighborly world. Could his idea be the answer?  We know that you have some suggestions and comments on this, so send them our way – we would love to see them.

Peter Block co-authored the book “The Abundant Community: Awakening the Power of Families and Neighborhoods.” He is a partner in Designed Learning, a training company that offers workshops to build the skills outlined in his books. He is the author of Flawless Consulting, Stewardship, The Answer to How Is Yes, and Community. He is the recipient of numerous awards, most recently the Organization Development Network’s 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award.

The word “reform” has become ubiquitous in its meaning and uses over the past few years. It is a hot-button topic, and perhaps its meaning has diminished. State of the Re:Union’s contributor Peter Block gives a refresher course on how to reform the notion of “reform.” (Because there are a few poignant points, SOTRU will present an excerpt from his post. To read Peter’s post in its entirety, click here.)

I would like to whisper a quiet caution to those of us who are investing in institutional or structural reform efforts. There is an intensifying stream of efforts to reform our institutions. In the U.S. there is government reform, education reform, healthcare reform, economic reform, food reform and environmental reform efforts. A growth industry to be sure.

Unfortunately, most of these reform efforts will change very little of consequence. Reform means to change the nature or order of things, to end something that is not working and replace it with something that does. Most of our current efforts have little to do with reform. They are at best efforts to make things a little better, a little less expensive, and at worst they are punitive strategies masquerading under the banner of reform.

The meaning of serious reform.

If we were serious about reform, there are four conditions that need to exist:

1. Serious reform means that there is a fundamental shift in the nature of relationships among the players. For example there would be a change in the relationship between teacher and student in education, doctor and patient in health care, politician and citizen in government, farmer and family in the food world.

2. This shift in relationship begins with a shift in who is authorized to speak, whose voice counts. If the voice of the educator, medical professional or elected official drives the reform and the voice of the student, patient or citizen is not amplified, then nothing has really changed.

3. When we re-authorize whose voice counts, there is a shift in where control resides. This means that real transformation calls forth from the student and patient and citizen more power than they had before, whether they want it or not. Power is distributed, not centralized. Consistency and efficiency are sacrificed for local ownership.

4. Shifting control leads to new forms of engagement. The players whom the system is designed to serve (students, patients and citizens) are now the center of the action. We pay close attention to how they come together. They meet to create relationships with one another. They value one another’s speaking. They realize they have the real power to create the future they have in mind for themselves. These effects are determined by the way we come together, not by new policy, program or expert design.

Source: VIC CVUT

Education reform applies to the other reform movements afoot.

Serious economic reform will create ways to build a stronger relationship among local businesses, home-based entrepreneurs, citizens buying less and buying local.

Serious health care reform will recognize that health is dependent on the network of relationships around us. We now know how to be healthy, we just need support from each other.

Government reform will have all of us deciding that we are citizens producing a good life for ourselves, not consumers wanting more services. Politicians will lose power and redefine their role as super-conveners of the process described above.

What this calls us to remember is that it is in the nature of students, parents, neighbors and citizens to lead the fundamental shifts that we all seek. The essential reform is to break the dependency we have on professionals, experts and consumption to provide satisfaction. As this occurs, our gift to the professionals is to give them and their systems something to follow.

What has reform come to mean to you? Has it been used so often that it has lost its meaning? What do you find to be the definition of reform? We want to know how reform works in your life, so write and tell us about your thoughts and comments.

Peter Block co-authored the book “The Abundant Community: Awakening the Power of Families and Neighborhoods.” He is a partner in Designed Learning, a training company that offers workshops to build the skills outlined in his books. He is the author of Flawless Consulting, Stewardship, The Answer to How Is Yes, and Community. He is the recipient of numerous awards, most recently the Organization Development Network’s 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award.

Over the past few days, it has been hard to dodge reminders about the tragedy of 9/11 and the stories of lives, families and communities that were ripped apart. It has been hard for some to overcome the harrowing time of our nation’s struggle, but for many others, it has given inspiration in remembering just what family means and why it is so important to our existence as a community. State of the Re:Union turns to John McKnight of Abundant Community to bring the meaning of family back into focus.

One day, when my mother was in her 70’s, she told me a story about how things had changed in her small town since she was a girl. She said,

“When I was a girl, things were very different. When we were feeling ill, my grandmother knew what would cure almost anything and all of us turned to her for healing advice.

When there was a dispute or trouble between family members, we turned to Uncle Charlie who listened, understood, and counseled us. He would remind us that our family’s sticking together was the most important thing we had.

Most important things I learned were from our neighbors and family. School helped, but the way I really came to understand the world was from the folks around me.

Whenever the family gathered, each of the kids was expected to display some talent for the group – singing, reciting a poem, doing acrobatics, playing a musical instrument. We didn’t think of it as entertainment. It was the enjoyment of sharing our gifts.

Everyone had backyard gardens and we had wonderful get-togethers when we picked and canned the food that got us through the winter.

My dad and brother built our house.

Today, that seems to have all faded away. Now, people use only doctors when they are ill and grandmothers are ignored.

People go to lawyers and psychologists when there are problems and Uncle Charlie is ignored.

Now, people think schools raise a child so children ignore their neighbors and their family.

Now, people enjoy television and movies and they ignore the gifts and talents of the people around them.

Food comes from the supermarket and McDonald’s and the backyard is for grass. There are no wonderful canning parties anymore.

Houses are built by architects and contractors who never make a house that really fits a family like the one my dad and brother built.”

Source: Scott

I think my mother was reminding me that her community was a productive place.

I think my mother was reminding me that her community was the producer of much of its health, problem solving, education, talent, food and housing. It was a productive place. Now, she observes a community made up of consumers who believe that health is in a hospital, problems are the domain of lawyers and therapists, education is produced by schools, enjoyment is produced by electronic media, food is provided by supermarkets and a home is built by professionals.

Hidden within my mother’s observations is the fact that she is describing the loss of basic functions belonging to families and neighborhoods. Most have become incompetent in terms of doing the work of families and neighborhoods. The cost of this incompetence is families and neighborhoods that have no real function.

No group persists when it has no reason to be together. Therefore, if families perform no functions we can predict that they will fall apart.

We delude ourselves if we think our high divorce rates are caused by interpersonal problems and disagreements. It’s not that people are not getting along, it is that they don’t need each other because they have no functions. They are just isolated, unproductive, dependent consumers who happen to live in the same house.

John McKnight

John McKnight is an expert on communities. An Ohio native who currently lives near Chicago, he has spent decades organizing communities and researching them, primarily in the Windy City itself. In the course of his career, he mobilized neighborhoods during the civil rights movement, wrote several books about community development, created a center for urban affairs at Northwestern University, and even taught the current President a thing or two about advocacy. (Yes, it’s true: way back when, a young and eager Barack Obama interned at McKnight’s training program for community organizers in southeast Chicago). If that’s not enough, he recently co-authored a book called “The Abundant Community: Awakening the Power of Families and Neighborhoods.”

State of the Re:Union will be featuring pieces from John McKnight and Peter Block of Abundant Community every other Monday.

Yes, Americans continue to lament over the current state of our economics and the trend of “trimming the fat” perpetuates the monetary diet that is leaving our schools and communities emaciated and hungry for a solution. SOTRU’s Abundant Community contributor, John McKnight, uncovers the resolve of one Chicago community in helping to eradicate this problem. In this SOTRU Monday edition, we learn how it takes a village to educate a child.

Source: Shen

Throughout the United States, local school districts are cutting back on teachers and curriculum while increasing class size.  With our current economy, it doesn’t appear that this trend will soon be reversed.

This grim prospect depends upon whether we have the novel belief that it takes a school to educate a child. Historically, the primary source of education was the knowledge and wisdom of the villagers. However, as the power of schooling grew, the neighborhood knowledge got devalued and unused. And so it is that local people often feel cornered as schooling recedes.

Supposing, on the other hand, that we looked again at the neighborhood knowledge. What would we find?

In one African-American, working-class neighborhood in Chicago, they’re finding out what their neighbors believe they know well enough to teach the local young people. When they interviewed 19 adults living on 3 blocks, they found that they were prepared to teach 37 different topics. Here they are:

Mathematics | Black history | World history | Geography | Etiquette | Gardening|Cooking  | Painting | Parenting | How to have faith | Sheet metal work|Plumbing | Carpentry | Skating  Real estate/business | Reading comprehension | Sewing | Typing | Reading | Knitting | Computer technology | Real estate | Good neighboring | First aid | Self-esteem | Life styles for youth Marketing | Strategic planning | Physical fitness | Basic accounting | Reading a credit report | Banking | Diction | Grammar | English | Public speaking | Journalism for beginners

The work ahead is to revive our neighborhood capacity to be responsible to, and for, our young people. The initial steps are simple. Find out what your neighbors are willing to teach. See which of these topics the local young people would like to learn. And then, make the connection.

Together, these new connections are the beginning of creating a village that raises a child, and a community that really cares about its young people.

Is this a good solution to an ongoing problem? Do you think this is one way to supplement what your community schools are lacking? If so, what unique skill set/s do you have to offer that might benefit the children in your community? We at SOTRU want to hear from you. To find out more on this neighborhood initiative, email John at JLMABCD@aol.com.

John McKnight

John McKnight is an expert on communities. An Ohio native who currently lives near Chicago, he has spent decades organizing communities and researching them, primarily in the Windy City itself. In the course of his career, he mobilized neighborhoods during the civil rights movement, wrote several books about community development, created a center for urban affairs at Northwestern University, and even taught the current President a thing or two about advocacy. (Yes, it’s true: way back when, a young and eager Barack Obama interned at McKnight’s training program for community organizers in southeast Chicago). If that’s not enough, he recently co-authored a book called “The Abundant Community: Awakening the Power of Families and Neighborhoods.”

State of the Re:Union will be featuring pieces from John McKnight and Peter Block of Abundant Community every other Monday.

There is a great deal written and practiced about creating new conversations, all of which is valuable and holds the same spirit as what is outlined here. For example, for some time there has been an important dialogue movement to help people understand their own mental models and listen more deeply.

Source: Africa Centre

The types of conversations outlined here are a little different in that they are aimed at building community, whereas many of the others are primarily aimed at individual development or improving relationships. Plus these community-building conversations are pointedly designed to confront the issue of accountability and commitment.

To open the community to an alternative future, start with the invitation conversation. Since all the other conversations lead to one another, sequence is not all that critical. It’s important to understand that some are more difficult than others, especially in communities where citizens are just beginning to engage with one another. Certain conversations are high-risk and require a greater level of trust among people than others to have meaning. A good meeting design begins with less-demanding ones and ends with the more-difficult ones.

1.    Invitation conversation. Transformation occurs through choice, not mandate. Invitation is the call to create an alternative future. What is the invitation we can make to support people to participate and own the relationships, tasks, and process that lead to success?
2.   Possibility conversation. This focuses on what we want our future to be as opposed to problem solving the past. It frees people to innovate, challenge the status quo, break new ground and create new futures that make a difference.
3.    Ownership conversation. This conversation focuses on whose organization or task is this? It asks: How have I contributed to creating current reality? Confusion, blame and waiting for someone else to change are a defense against ownership and personal power.
4.    Dissent conversation. This gives people the space to say no. If you can’t say no, your yes has no meaning. Give people a chance to express their doubts and reservations, as a way of clarifying their roles, needs and yearnings within the vision and mission. Genuine commitment begins with doubt, and no is an expression of people finding their space and role in the strategy.
5.   Commitment conversation. This conversation is about making promises to peers about your contribution to the success. It asks: What promise am I willing to make to this enterprise? And, what price am I willing to pay for success? It is a promise for the sake of a larger purpose, not for personal return.
6.    Gifts conversation. Rather than focus on deficiencies and weaknesses, we focus on the gifts and assets we bring and capitalize on those to make the best and highest contribution. Confront people with their core gifts that can make the difference and change lives.

Other conversations may also be important, but these six are vital to shift to a future where each citizen, each neighbor, each individual chooses to take responsibility and own their role in shaping the future.

Peter Block co-authored the book “The Abundant Community: Awakening the Power of Families and Neighborhoods.” He is a partner in Designed Learning, a training company that offers workshops to build the skills outlined in his books. He is the author of Flawless Consulting, Stewardship, The Answer to How Is Yes, and Community. He is the recipient of numerous awards, most recently the Organization Development Network’s 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award.

State of the Re:Union will be featuring pieces from John McKnight and Peter Block of Abundant Community every other Monday.

John McKnight

John McKnight is an expert on communities. An Ohio native who currently lives near Chicago, he has spent decades organizing communities and researching them, primarily in the Windy City itself. In the course of his career, he mobilized neighborhoods during the civil rights movement, wrote several books about community development, created a center for urban affairs at Northwestern University, and even taught the current President a thing or two about advocacy. (Yes, it’s true: way back when, a young and eager Barack Obama interned at McKnight’s training program for community organizers in southeast Chicago). If that’s not enough, he recently co-authored a book called “The Abundant Community: Awakening the Power of Families and Neighborhoods.”

Now, State of the Re:Union is thrilled to share some of McKnight’s insight with you. In an exciting partnership, we will feature articles from The Abundant Community. Last week, I was lucky enough to ask McKnight a few questions about his latest book, his work as a community organizer and some of his current projects.

So, what’s “The Abundant Community” all about?

Co-authored with writer and consultant Peter Block, The Abundant Community argues that neighborhoods can power their own development by tapping into the abundant resources already present within them. As McKnight and Block explain, people tend to look outside their neighborhoods when they want to improve some key aspect of their wellbeing – outsourcing their health care to specialists at big hospitals, for example, or petitioning city hall to pick up their garbage more often. America’s consumer society suggests that ordinary people in local communities cannot satisfy their needs alone, but instead must make purchases or advocate to outside organizations from a position of scarcity. Too often, we “go to institutions that operate within the economy and say we want a bigger piece – that we want our fair share of being a consumer,” said McKnight.

In their book, McKnight and Block show that there’s another way – a form of development that focuses on abundance rather than scarcity. This abundance exists right in our neighborhoods, typically in the form of untapped knowledge, and it can help us improve our health, economy, environment, food and care. For instance, although we tend to associate health with medical care and doctors, much of our physical wellbeing depends upon personal habits (eating healthy foods and exercising frequently), group activity (socializing with friends) and the environment (having access to clean air and water). “All of those things can become more common and supported in a healthful neighborhood,” said McKnight. “These [factors] are local, and they are all enhanced if people are related to each other locally.”

Peter Block & John McKnight

By connecting people and encouraging them share their knowledge about health, the economy, the environment, food or care, we can achieve wellbeing within our communities, instead of constantly seeking help outside them. “The information that people on the block are gathering is abundant and free and critical,” said McKnight.

How did McKnight conduct research for the book?

“The book grew from a half century of experience,” McKnight told me. An activist for the first half of his career, McKnight started as a neighborhood organizer in Chicago and later became the Midwest director for the United States Commission on Civil Rights. In 1969 he was invited to start a center for urban affairs at Northwestern University, where he conducted applied research. “I was trying to find out systematically what makes strong neighborhoods and what kinds of resources help them do their work,” he said.

With a colleague, McKnight established a development method called asset-based community development, which involves uncovering and utilizing strengths within a community. He later helped create a national training program where interns – including young Barack Obama – came to learn about community organizing in neighborhoods of Chicago. On his relationship with the president, McKnight explained, “[Obama] sent me a copy of his book on my birthday, but that’s the last contact I’ve had with him.” He joked, “I think [the president] is dealing with matters beyond what we’re doing now.”

What is McKnight working on today? And where are his sights set for the future?

McKnight is currently co-director of the Asset-Based Community Development Institute at Northwestern University, though he travels around the country to help communities recognize their abundant resources. “I’m most involved in engaging local people to identify and start using their capacities,” he said. He encourages neighbors to visit with each other and ask each other about their gifts, skills and passions.

Going forward, McKnight wants to help people classify their development projects into three categories – those which can be executed by the community alone, those which require external assistance, and those which must be executed exclusively from the outside. He hopes to focus on improving neighborhood organizations like veterans’ and women’s associations, and he wants to see if mini-loans can help them implement better development projects.

In each of his endeavors, McKnight is seeking to strengthen communities from within. “We’re looking to be a productive community inside by establishing relationships,” he said.

State of the Re:Union will feature articles from Abundant Community‘s John McKnight and Peter Block every other Monday.