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The Communitarian Update
Number 58
November 17, 2003
Tell us what you think!
Recently President Bush called for a change in the sixty-year old American policy of supporting
autocrats in the Middle East to instead supporting democratization in that region and elsewhere.
Whatever his motives, can this be done? Should the West favor such a change even if it means in
the short run there may be Taliban-like governments elected in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan
among other places? Furthermore, is it the business of the United States to determine what kind
of governments other nations ought to have? To read the speech, go to
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8260-2003Nov6.html.
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
about yourself; if not your affiliation, at least your town and nation, to help us understand your
perspective.
Special Announcements
The Communitarian Summit: An Agenda for the Next Four Years
July 9-11, 2004, Washington, D.C.
On the campus of The George Washington University
Meet with scholars and practitioners to discuss communitarian issues. Our themes include
Communitarian Theory and Philosophy, Beyond Relativism, From Empire to Community,
Recapturing our Holidays, and Rights & Responsibilities in the Age of Terrorism. The keynote
addresses during the conference will be given by noted intellectuals, including Professor Francis
Fukuyama of the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins
University. Other scholars who have agreed to join us include Benjamin Barber, Arthur Caplan,
Ezekiel Emanuel, and Cass Sunstein.
For more information and to register please visit us online:http://www.gwu.edu/~ccps/Communitarian_Summit.html
International Association for National Youth Service: 7th Annual Global Conference
August 2004, Ghana
Theme: “The Impact of National Youth Service”
Delegates from 50 countries as well as the United Nations will participate in regional discussion
groups, research workshops, and the evaluation of country reports. For more information, visit
http://www.acys.utas.edu.au/ianys/proceedings/index.html
News of Interest
Poll: Americans Think US Attacked Iraq Based on False Information
A new PIPA/Knowledge Networks poll shows that 55% of Americans believe that the Bush
Administration went to war based on incorrect assumptions. Seventy two percent said that the
administration knew it was presenting false information or at least knew that it was stretching the
truth about evidence of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. A further 63% think that Bush would
have still gone to war even if he knew beforehand that he was acting on misinformation. The poll
also showed that 61% of Americans believe that the United States should have taken more time
to learn if Iraq had weapons of mass destruction; and 59% said that it should have taken more
time to garner international support for an invasion. To read the full report, see
http://www.pipa.org/OnlineReports/Iraq/Nov_13_03_iraq_report.pdf
Reagan Official: Mounting Deficit Meant to Frustrate Future Democratic Administrations
Shortly after Reagan became president, Murray Weidenbaum, a member of the Reagan White
House's Council of Economic Advisers, told an assembled group that the new administration
would generate such a deficit that if the Democrats ever made it back into office, they would be
unable to spend much on their favorite social programs. During the Clinton Administration that
strategy worked, and it is unclear if current Republican policies may cause a repeat. See http://www.amitai-notes.com/blog/archives/000155.html.
Community Thrives in Chicago Housing Project
Though most residents of a low-income high-rise in Chicago have moved out in response to city
efforts to demolish and rebuild housing projects, the small number of residents who remain have
found a new sense of security and community. Researchers who studied the project concluded
that in the past there were too many buildings crowded with too many people, which resulted in
high crime rates and sub-standard living conditions. For the time being, fewer tenants means that
the Chicago Housing Authority has more resources to spend on upkeep and services, and
neighbors also look out for each other. As one resident put it, “Over here, there ain’t no shadows.
Everybody sees. This is a community. In communities, everybody knows you.” To read the
article by Jonathan Eig, see the Wall Street Journal, October 3, 2003, page A1.
Study: National Service is Good for You
A study by James L. Perry and Ann Marie Thomson has found that participating in national
service has direct benefits to skill development and satisfaction, educational opportunity, self-esteem, and physical and mental health. The authors further argue that national service is an
efficient and effective way to solve community problems. In all but one of the 14 studies that
they cite, benefits exceeded costs when national service was applied as a problem-solving
approach. For more information on the authors, visit
http://gwbweb.wustl.edu/csd/gsi/symposium/papers.shtml
Study: Human Brain “Hard-Wired” for Empathy
A recent study proves that empathy is a natural, automatic reaction to other people’s emotions
and not the product of our morals or upbringing. Doctors in Italy found that subjects who
watched others smell both pleasant and unpleasant odors had the same activity in the anterior
insula of the brain as when they preformed the task themselves. The authors say that the next step
is to study patients with schizophrenia, autism, and other ailments in order to learn to what extent
an inability to mirror others’ emotions is responsible for difficulty in having relationships with
other people. To read the full study, see http://www.neuron.org/content/article/fulltext?uid
=PIIS0896627303006792&highlight=keysers
Debate over Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of Christ”
Mel Gibson’s latest film about the last 12 hours in the life of Christ is accused of stirring Anti-Semitism. To watch a trailer of the film, go to
http://www.amitai-notes.com/blog/archives/000175.html. For a full discussion, visit
http://www.amitai-notes.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-search.cgi?IncludeBlogs=1&search=passion
Publications of Interest
#8220;The Resilient Sector: The State of Nonprofit America” by Lester M. Salamon (Brookings
Institution Press, 2003)
Provides an overview of the health of the American nonprofit sector with reference to challenges
and setbacks and the ability of nonprofits to adapt and re-engineer themselves. Argues that
contrary to popular opinion, American nonprofits are remarkably resilient. Further contends that
Americans have taken the resilience of the nonprofit sector for granted to the point that new
challenges may hamper nonprofits’ ability to perform the services that the public has come to
expect of them. To purchase this book, see
http://bookstore.brookings.edu/book_details.asp?product%5Fid=11847
“A Voice for Nonprofits” by Jeffrey M. Berry (Brookings Institution Press, 2003)
Analyzes the results of extensive polling among American nonprofits about tax laws and
concludes that nonprofits are severely misinformed about their rights under these basic laws.
Finds that nonprofit organizations limit their lobbying activity due to this misinformation. Argues
that when ignorance leads to self-imposed restrictions on advocacy, the underprivileged
populations that nonprofits serve are the ones who lose out. To order this book, go to http://bookstore.brookings.edu/book_details.asp?product%5Fid=11838
“The Next American City,” Fall 2003
A new quarterly journal that represents the next generation of urban scholars and leaders.
Focuses on how America’s cities and suburbs are changing and presents solutions for the long-term welfare of urban communities. Offers pragmatic analysis that combines the beliefs of those
who rely on free market development and those who advocate government regulation and
spending on urban projects and renewal. For more information or to subscribe, visit http://www.americancity.org
“Best Practices For Producing Community-wide Study Circles” (Topsfield Foundation, Inc.,
2003)
Defines study circles as small problem-solving discussion groups made up of community
members with diverse backgrounds and viewpoints who collaborate to address a critical public
issue. Summarizes research on 17 community study circle programs that mostly focused on race
relations and identifies useful lessons and best practices for those who work in the field. To
download the booklet, go to http://www.studycircles.org/pdf/bestpractcomplete.pdf
Article of Interest
In the next issue of The Responsive Community, Peter Skerry proposes a more balanced approach
to immigration policy by analyzing the work of The Resurrection Project, a community
organization based in fourteen Catholic parishes in the heavily Latino neighborhoods of
southwest Chicago. After discussing the organization and its programs, he explores how this
model is different from and preferable to those that focus narrowly on naturalization.
For more information about The Responsive Community, visit www.communitariannetwork.org.
To receive a FREE sample issue, please e-mail your mailing address to comnet@gwu.edu or call
either 800-245-7460 or 202-994-4355. Same to subscribe. Ordering information is also available
online at http://www.gwu.edu/~ccps/rcq/rcq_order.html.
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