Customer Reviews

Community and the Politics of Place

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The book traces the citizens' involvement in government from the Founding Fathers to today's community meeting at the county courthouse. I enjoyed the coverage of Jefferson and Hamilton's debates and the exploration of the citizens' role in government. Through a historical understanding of the structure of our government (which is shown to discourage consensus and promote litigious solutions), the book espouses the benefits of grassroot community-based solutions to societal problems.

Required reading for anyone who wonders how America came to be a divided, polarized nation. Kemmis traces the traditions of American political discourse and relates them to current civic debates. Another book that deals with the need for a sense of community is M. Scott Peck's "The Different Drum: Community-Making and Peace," 1987.

This book is a game changer for bringing a better process to community decision-making. It was a huge help in opening my eyes to the design of the procedural bureaucracy, and ways to change it. If you are active in your community and tired of us-vs-them scenarios that plague many communities, then this is a must read!

If I were a politician, I would be proud to have written this book. If I were an academic, I probably wouldn't list it on my resume.

In his attempts to trace back the spirit of civic involvement, Kemmis succeeds in offering something new and valuable to our practical political discourse. I applaud him for trying to deal with the political theory behind his practice, but I found him unconvincing, esp. if one applies the same standards of rigour that we do to other political theorists. Read this book if you want to read something thoughtful by a practicing politician.