Return to Community
Looking backward -- and across the Pond -- to find a way forward
I’m just back (literally just — writing this from the Newark airport) from a trip to Scotland, where I was on a walking tour with my aunt on the Isle of Skye. Very Howard’s End, I know. I spent a week among the stunning mountain ranges of Skye, clambering up steep inclines by day, sampling Hebrides gins and whiskys by night.
I thought I was getting away from it all, but in fact Scotland ended up inspiring me with new ways to move forward in these increasingly troubling times.
Scotland is known for its focus on community. I learned on this trip that Mary, Queen of Scots, was not Queen of Scotland, because Scotland belongs to its people. It’s a kind of populism, but it’s a version that values culture, land, and relationships. The Isle of Eigg, near to Skye, is community-owned, as of 1997, after a period of economic instability and disinvestment. The country is full of “community councils,” voluntary organizations set up by local government and run by residents who directly represent their neighbors’ concerns to the local council, and run programs to improve life for all residents. As an official website notes, “Community Councils are comprised of people who care about their community and want to make it a better place to live.” Maybe my favorite example is the bothy — a mountain hut funded and maintained by volunteers, with an unlocked door and a welcoming bed, kitchen, and shelter from the rain for any hikers happening to wander by. We came across one of these while hiking near Uig, and I have to tell you, it nearly restored my faith in humanity.
While I was in Scotland remembering the good in people, the brand of populism on display here at home seemed to get darker by the day. Attacks on universities and civil society have ramped up to such an extreme that even David Brooks — David Brooks! — is calling for an uprising. Those of us in the the non-profit sector are calling our lawyers and gearing up for a fight for our very survival, even as we work tirelessly to try and help those who are most vulnerable.
It may well be time for an uprising. I don’t think comparisons to the Revolutionary War are far-fetched. But I also think it’s time to turn away from materialism and self-regard toward models of community.
This can take many forms, from community forums to barter goods and services, to more formal arrangements similar to Scotland’s Commuity Councils. The latter are a great starting place for communities to actively engage in local and regional project development, and to push for Community Benefits Agreements and similar models of shared prosperity.
Community-building can also take the form of actual community or employee ownership in projects and local industries, something we’ve seen play out lately in the energy sector in particular. And while we’re talking about new corporate models, let’s not forget the Public Benefits Corporation, which literally changes the legal status of companies to hold the CEO and Board accountable to a mission beyond maximizing the profits of shareholders.
The upshot: it’s time for us to shake up our current models and find new ways of doing business, running government, and building community. Together, we can survive and thrive.