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The Communitarian Update
Number 52
February 13, 2003
Tell us what you think!
What do parents owe their children? Once a child graduates from high school, do her parents,
assuming they can afford it, have a moral obligation to pay for college? What about once that
child is an adult, and say, struggling with a divorce and single-parenthood? Should parents feel
obligated to take in an adult child, or--morally speaking--do they have no obligation?
And what moral responsibilities do children have to take care of and/or provide for their parents?
When one's parents become elderly and in need of care, is it enough for that child to make sure
the parents are cared for in a nursing home, and to visit them once in a while? Is one morally
obligated to care for parents in one's own home, and/or to help one's parents live independently,
for as long as possible help? Or does paying taxes for social security and Medicare take care of
everything?
Please respond briefly and tell us how to identify you. We do not run anonymous responses
because we hold that true identities make for better dialogues. Please also provide some details,
if not your affiliation, at least your town and nation, to help us understand your perspective.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Improving Identification: Enhancing Security, Guarding Privacy
March 6, '03, 9:30 a.m., Room 188, Russell Senate Office Building, 1st and C Streets, N.E.
Whenever the issue of improving our system of identification arises, people are correctly
concerned about possible violations of their rights - especially of privacy, but also of anonymity.
The Communitarian Network is organizing a Congressional briefing on how to improve
identification while enhancing security and guarding privacy. For questions, visit
www.communitariannetwork.org or contact Marc Dunkelman at 202-994-4981.
Sex, Marriage and Family and the Religions of the Book: Modern Problems, Enduring Solutions
Emory U., March 27-29, '03
The conference will examine problems of marriage and family life over the last 25 years and
explore solutions. Eighty distinguished experts from a range of fields will outline and debate the
issues from a multitude of religious and political perspectives. Keynote speakers include Robert
Bellah, Amitai Etzioni, Martin Marty, Rebecca Chopp and Robert Wuthnow. Hosted by Emory's
Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Religion (CISR) and supported by The Pew Charitable
Trusts. Information about the event at
http://www.law.emory.edu/cisr/events.htm.
The Ways We Celebrate: Holidays and Rituals as Seedbeds of Social Values
George Washington U., April 11-12, '03.
You are invited to participate in a conference that aims to highlight the importance of holidays
and rituals within society and as a fertile field for academic study. For additional information,
please contact Elizabeth Tulis at The Communitarian Network, 2130 H Street, N.W., Suite 703,
Washington, D.C. 20052; 202.994.8167; etulis@gwu.edu. Also visit our website at
http://www.gwu.edu/~ccps/the_ways_we_celebrate.html.
9th Annual Human Sciences Conference: Academic Labor and the New Politics of Consensus
George Washington U., Feb. 28-March 1, '03
The focus will be the interrelations between the following pressing problems: 1) the embattled
situation, and even dismantlement, of academic institutions and programs due to the cash-nexus
logic of 'efficiency' and 'excellence'; 2) the exploitation of intellectual labor, especially within
the lower ranks of the university hierarchy; 3) the recent (and historical) interests in national
and international unity vis-à-vis the terrorist enemy; and 4) the cross-disciplinary decline of
dissent in the post-Cold War and post-9/11 university. For further information, contact
labor@gwu.edu.
Third Communitarian Summit, Washington, DC, July 9-11, '04
The summit will take place simultaneously with a meeting of the Society for the Advancement of
Socio-Economics. The Communitarian Network invites paper proposals on any of the following
topics: communitarian theory and philosophy; autonomy and social order; rights and
responsibilities; the moral voice, moral dialogues, norms and laws; the moral infrastructure;
family; character education; informal rituals and the ways we celebrate; the community of
communities; the global community; and universal values. For details, please visit
www.communitariannetwork.org.
For more information contact jambro@gwu.edu.
Single-parent families and childhood risk
Swedish children of single parents have higher risks of psychiatric disease, suicide, suicide
attempts, alcohol-related diseases, and drug-related diseases than children in two parent homes.
The study conducted by Gunilla Ringbäck Weitoft and colleagues, and published in the Jan. 23,
'03, issue of The Lancet, identified lack of household resources (renting rather than owning a
home and being on welfare) as playing a major part in the increased health risks of children
growing up in single parent homes. To read the study and commentary on it, visit
www.thelancet.com (registration required).
Unhappy at work? You're not alone.
More than half of Americans hold negative views of their current work experience and more than
40% are viewed as "at risk" (in danger of leaving their current job as soon as the economy
improves, or just biding their time) according to a new study by Towers Perrin/Gang & Gang
research. Biggest complaints: workloads that continue to increase while staffing decreases, lack
of support and vision from managers, a bleak future, and boredom or lack of challenge.
Employees want to feel confident, competent, and in control of their work; to be recognized and
compensated for their contributions; and to have a pleasant work environment. To read "Working
Today: Exploring Employees' Emotional Connections to Their Jobs," visit
www.towers.com/towers_news/news/images/Workexpreportfinal.pdf.
The Supreme Court, the military and affirmative action
Several retired senior U. S. military officers are planning to file a legal brief supporting the
consideration of an applicant's race in admissions decisions at the country's service academies.
The officers are composing their friend-of-the-court brief in anticipation of the Supreme Court's
consideration of a case challenging the use of affirmative action at the University of Michigan.
The officers are worried that a Supreme Court decision for the plaintiff in this case would spell
an end for affirmative action at the elite Army, Navy and Air Force academies. Deans of
admission at these service academies maintain that maintaining diverse student bodies at their
respective schools is crucial for the overall integration of the armed forces (New York Times,
1/28/03).
"Am I my driver's keeper?"
Japan's tougher laws against drinking and driving, enacted in June 2002, have consequences for
everyone in the car with a drunk driver. Driving under the influence of one medium-sized drink
can now result in a fine of up to 500,000 yen, or even jail time, and police are enforcing the law
that makes a drunk driver's passengers subject to fines, too. The new penalties seem to have had
an effect: in January, it was reported that the number of road deaths in Japan in 2002 was down
5% from 2001 (The Economist, 1/11/03).
President's Council on Service and Civic Participation
President Bush has issued an Executive Order establishing a Council on Service and Civic
Participation. The Council's mission will be to encourage recognition of outstanding service and
civic participation, and promote more such activity, and to facilitate awareness of the history of
American service and civic involvement. Among the Council's functions will be to recognize
individuals, schools and organizations that promote volunteer service and civic participation;
assist individuals and organizations in the development of service programs; and disseminate
relevant educational information about volunteer service and civic participation, especially to
schools and youth organizations (White House press release, 01/30/03). See
www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/01/20030130-5.html.
Newsletter of Interest
The MTI Monthly
-Published by the Mediation Training Institute International for all who share an interest in
conflict and its management. Sample issue at www.mediationworks.com/mti/friends.htm.
Articles of Interest
"Public Opinion in Islamic Countries: Survey Results" by Monsoor Moaddel, Footnotes, Jan. '03.
-Details findings about public attitudes on key religious, political and gender issues in Egypt,
Jordan and Iran before and after Sept. 11. Visit www.asanet.org/footnotes/indexthree.html.
"Are Particularistic Obligations Justified?" by Amitai Etzioni (The Review of Politics, Fall '02)
-An examination of the constitutive roles community has in our life, and the difference it makes
when considering what kind of human flourishing we deem of value. Free copies available. Visit
http://www.gwu.edu/~ccps/etzioni/articles1.html.
New Publications
The Ethics of Lobbying: Organized Interests, Political Power and the Common Good
(Georgetown University Press, '02)
-Analyzes and responds to the growth of lobbying as one of the main forces in American politics.
A project of the Woodstock Theological Center, the study recounts experiences of actual
lobbyists, reflects on the implications and outcomes of the lobbyists' activities, evaluates the
significance and worth of lobbying, and prescribes a set of principles for the ethical conduct of
lobbying. For more information and to order visit
http://www.georgetown.edu/centers/woodstock/publications/lobbying_ethics_book_flyer.doc.
Why Economies Grow: The Forces That Shape Prosperity and How We Can Get Them Working
Again by Jeff Madrick (Basic Books, '03).
-Details the way government initiatives, such as the creation of the Internet and the Interstate
System of highways, were key forces in the growth of the American economy. For the
continuation of this economic growth, proposes that the government focus on 1) further
development of communications networks to promote market expansion, 2) aid to the poor,
because inequality slows economic growth, and 3) public investment in education, transportation
and research. Available from www.amazon.com.
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Endorse the Communitarian Platform!
Join other communitarians who have read and endorsed our platform. Visit our web site:
http://www.gwu.edu/~ccps/rcplatform.html.
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RC in the News
Reporter Linda Feldman of the Christian Science Monitor recently highlighted Cheney Ryan's
article "War without Sacrifice?" published in the Winter '02/'03 issue of The Responsive
Community. Feldman writes, "The Founding Fathers cared deeply that the citizenry have a
personal stake in any decision to go to war - by having themselves or loved ones serve, or by
paying taxes to cover the cost. They 'worried that if the question of war became an abstraction -
if the question of whether the nation should go to war was not experienced as a question of
whether I should go to war - then disaster might follow,' says Cheyney Ryan, a political
philosopher at the University of Oregon, in The Responsive Community, a journal of the
communitarian movement" (Christian Science Monitor, 1/31/03).
Visit The Responsive Community on our website: http://www.communitariannetwork.org.
If you would like to receive a FREE sample of our publication for yourself or your organization,
please let us know at comnet@gwu.edu, or call (800) 245-7460. Same to subscribe.
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