This week in community building — Issue 59

Community-led futures is a radical act

James Goodman

Communities will come under even greater pressure. Many will be marginalised and forgotten, with terrible repercussions for livelihoods, health and wellbeing. But creating thriving, resilient, powerful communities could be the starting point for a reconfiguration of the way things work. An economy driven by locally-owned and locally-run enterprises rather than wealth-concentrating international banks and big business, and a politics rooted in community participation and radically decentralised decision making, rather than over-centralised policymaking. Such a system, rich with the local social infrastructure that underpins relationships, connections and trust, would have a better chance of creating the conditions for people to lead fulfilling lives, and regenerating the natural world.