The Abundant Community : Awakening the Power of Families and Neighborhoods

There Is A Growing Movement Of People With A Different Vision For Their Local Communities. They Know That Real Satisfaction And The Good Life Are Not Provided By Organizations, Institutions, Or Systems. No Number Of Great Ceo's, Central Offices, Or Long Range Plans Produce What A Community Can Produce. People Are Discovering A New Possibility For Their Lives. They Have A Calling. They Are Called. And Together They Call Upon Themselves. This Possibility Is Idealistic, And Yet It Is An Ideal Within Our Grasp. It Is A Possibility That Is Both Idealistic And Realistic. Our Culture Leads Us To Believe That A Satisfying Life Can Be Purchased. It Tells Us That In The Place Where We Live, We Don't Have The Resources To Create A Good Life. This Book Reminds Us That A Neighborhood That Can Raise A Child, Provide Security, Sustain Our Health, Secure Our Income, And Care For Our Vulnerable People Is Within The Power Of Our Community. This Book Gives Voice To Our Ideal Of A Beloved Community. It Reminds Us Of Our Power To Create A Hope-filled Life. It Assures Us That When We Join Together With Our Neighbors We Are The Architects Of The Future Where We Want To Live. Part I: The Shift From Citizen To Consumer -- Part Ii: Choosing A Satisfied Life -- Part Iii: Creating Abundance. John Mcknight And Peter Block. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 149-161) And Index. Cover ......Page 1 The Abundant Community......Page 6 Copyright ......Page 7 Contents......Page 10 Welcome......Page 14 Introduction......Page 16 The Elements of Satisfaction......Page 17 The Universal Properties......Page 19 PART I: The Shift from Citizen to Consumer......Page 22 1 The Limits of Consumption......Page 24 The Consumer Way: Lives of Scarcity and Consumption......Page 26 The Citizen Way: Lives of Abundance and Cooperation......Page 29 A Choice of Culture......Page 30 Neighborhood Necessities......Page 33 Community Possibilities......Page 40 2 What Did We Lose and Where Did It Go?......Page 41 The Origin of Dissatisfaction......Page 42 The Growth of Systems and Their Managers......Page 44 Outsourcing Care to Professionals......Page 51 Seduction by the Promise of Satisfaction......Page 57 3 The Effects of Living in a Consumer World......Page 61 Living by the Rules......Page 62 The Cost to Society......Page 64 The Cost to Neighborhoods......Page 69 The Wired Life......Page 72 The Heart of the Matter......Page 77 PART II: Choosing a Satisfied Life......Page 78 The Structure of Abundance......Page 80 Gift-Mindedness......Page 85 Associational Life......Page 86 Hospitality......Page 93 The Invisible Structures of Community......Page 96 The Capacities of an Abundant Community......Page 98 The Culture of Abundance......Page 106 The Citizen Economy......Page 111 Policies That Support Abundant Community......Page 114 Democracy and the Abundant Community......Page 124 PART III: Creating Abundance......Page 128 Competence within Reach......Page 130 Community Abundance Is Its Gifts......Page 134 Connected Gifts Create Associations......Page 138 The Vital Role of Connectors......Page 147 A Table for Connectors......Page 149 Welcoming Strangers......Page 152 Finding Our Own Way......Page 155 The Story of an Abundant Community......Page 160 Notes......Page 164 Pioneers: People Who Are Creating Abundant Communities......Page 168 References......Page 174 Acknowledgments......Page 178 B......Page 180 C......Page 181 G......Page 182 O......Page 183 S......Page 184 Y......Page 185 About the Authors......Page 186 This book is about a new possibility for us together to discover the real basis for a satisfying life. It is a life that becomes possible when we join our neighbors in creating a community that nurtures our family and makes us useful citizens.We are besieged by messages from consumer society telling us that we are insufficient, that we must purchase what we need from specialists and systems outside the community. We outsource our health care, child care, relationships, recreation, our safety, and our satisfaction. We are trained to become consumers and clients, not citizens and neighbors. McKnight and Block take a thoughtful look at how this situation came about, what maintains it, and the crippling effect it has had on our families, our communities, and our environment.Right in our neighborhood we have the capacity to address our human needs in ways that systems, which see us only as interchangeable units, as problems to be solved, never can. We all have gifts to offer, even the most seemingly marginal among us. It does not matter how rich or poor the neighborhood is. McKnight and Block suggest how to nurture voluntary, self-organizing structures that will reveal these gifts and allow them to be shared to the greatest mutual benefit. They recommend roles we can assume and actions we can take to reweave the social fabric that has been unraveled by consumerism and its belief that however much we have, it is not enough. Each neighborhood has poeple with gifts and talents needed to provide for our prosperity and peace of mind -- this book offers practical ways to discover them. It gives voice to the ideas of an abundant community. It reminds us of our power to create a hope-filled life. It assures us that when we join together with our neighbors, we are the architects of the future where we want to live. Right in our neighborhood we have the capacity to address our human needs in ways that systems, which see us only as interchangeable units, as problems to be solved, never can. We all have gifts to offer, even the most seemingly marginal among us. This book suggests how to nurture voluntary, self-organizing structures that will reveal these gifts and allow them to be shared to the greatest mutual benefit. Block and McKnight recommend roles we can assume and actions we can take to reweave the social fabric that has been unraveled by consumerism and its belief that however much we have, it is not enough "'What we need is here.'That line from a Wendell Berry poem sums up the theme that runs through this vital and timely book. No one is better equipped to help us test this truth than John McKnight and Peter Block. This book is a treasure. And it can help us recover the treasures hidden in plain sight within and among us, renewing ourselves and our democracy as we go."--Parker J. Palmer, author of A Hidden Wholeness, Let Your Life Speak, and The Courage to Teach and founder, Center for Courage and Renewal Our consumer society constantly tells us that we are insufficient and that we must purchase what we need from specialists and systems outside the community. We outsource our health care, child care, recreation, safety, and satisfaction. We are trained to become consumers and clients, not citizens and neighbors. John McKnight and Peter Block take a thoughtful look at how this situation came about, what maintains it, and the crippling effect it has had on our families, our communities, and our environment "John and Peter awaken us to the seductions of technology, specialization, mass entertainment, and the quest for perfection. They remind us we've had enough. More important, that we are enough and have enough to do something about it. At a time when our yearning to belong has never been higher and the limitations of experts are strikingly evident, this book charts a renaissance of loving, human power."--Al Etmanski, President, Planned Lifetime Advocacy Network, and author of A Good Life "The Abundant Community is an original and insightful resource that not only invites us to shift from consumerism to citizenship but shows us how. By reclaiming the role of citizenship, we can restore the vital functions of family and neighborhood--the heart of community."--Angeles Arrien, PhD, cultural anthropologist and author of The Four-Fold Way "Don't wait for a politician, scientist, infomercial, or lottery ticket to come to the rescue. Read this powerful book and help yourself, your neighbors, and your planet to satisfying and sustainable solutions found only in community."--Jim Diers, former Director, Seattle Department of Neighborhoods, and author of Neighbor Power Each neighborhood has people with the gifts and talents needed to provide for our prosperity and peace of mind--this book offers practical ways to discover them. It reminds us of our power to create a hope-filled life. It assures us that ultimately we can be the architects of the future where we want to live --Book Jacket This book challenges the conventional wisdom about what you and I can do as citizens to shape our future. McKnight and Block offer concrete examples of what citizens can do and have done by drawing on resources in their families and communities."--David Mathews, President, Kettering Foundation We are discovering that it takes a village to do more than raise a child. It is the key to a satisfying life. It turns out we need our neighbors and a community to be healthy, produce jobs, protect the land, and care for the elderly and those on the margin "This book is the basis for health and happiness in any society. A must-read"--Quentin Young, Chairman, Health and Medicine Policy Research Group, and former President, American Public Health Association