The Different Drum: Community Making and Peace (Paperback)

by M. Scott Peck (Author) "Community is currently rare..." (more)
Key Phrases: unhealthy nationalism, community presidency, autonomous houses, United States, New York, Basement Group (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
An advocate of a supranational government agency to replace obsolete nation-states and transformation of the military into a national service corps, psychiatrist Peck, author of The Road Less Traveled, etc., argues that physical and spiritual salvation no longer can be separated. The only way to combat the public apathy and "militant ignorance" that allow the arms race to continue lies in grass-roots propagation of the community ideal, which the church and government have lost, argues the author. Individualism plus groupand self-acceptance, good communication and joint commitment are essential to building a true community whatever its membership and interests. Peck foresees a new era of integration favorable to a community movement that calls for universal application of the personal principles of tolerance and love. Renouncing both policies of appeasement and deterrence, he proposes a "peace through weakness" strategy that dares us to "empty" ourselves of outmoded ideas of security to the extent of facing the economic consequences of eliminating the arms race. Major ad/promo.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal
In his newest book psychiatrist Peck, author of The Road Less Traveled ( LJ 9/15/78), explores the nature of community, which can be recognized, he suggests, by the vulnerability, honesty, and theological cultural inclusiveness of its participants. Born of a yearning for world peace, this draws exciting analogies between the ways communities emerge and the dynamics of individual spiritual development. A moving work that achieves a rich integration of social/psychological insights and a contemplative stance. EC
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Touchstone (January 2, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684848589
• ISBN-13: 978-0684848587
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #259,318 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Relevant, Insightful, Provocative, Life-Changing. A must-read!, September 27, 2005

By	Jakub J. Czyz "Jake" (Ann Arbor, MI) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Once again Peck's integrative approach (integrating psychology, spirituality (not dogma), and philosophy with practical experience) has produced a work of profound depth and value. In our times of "global war," the doctor's ideas about community making and peace are a prescription we could all benefit from.
In the context of spirituality, Peck draws from the Christian tradition as well as Judaism and eastern philosophy (e.g. Zen). However, readers of any religious persuasion should find abundant value and wisdom in this book.
On a personal note, his portrayal of a healthy non-dogmatic Christianity was one of the factors that made me want to become a Christian when I first read his work many years ago. This book, along with the "Road Less Traveled" series had a profound impact on my life and will remain at eye-level on my bookshelf forever.
[If you're interested in good non-dogmatic and readable Christian theology and life-changing ideas... I also highly recommend works by Richard Rohr.]

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Peck Mixes Spirituality with Common Sense, May 4, 2001

By	Dana R. Leipold (Castro Valley, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Community isn't what we think it is. Peck does an impeccable job of explaining true community and why it is so elusive in our society. Though he mentions over and over that he is an idealist, Peck presents some very intelligent arguments as to why a community approach just makes sense. He isn't naive either. He says the road to community can be painful and extremely hard.

20 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A developmental model psychospirituality, October 26, 2000

By	Edwardson Tan (.) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

After being catapulted to fame by his first book--the best-selling "The Road Less Travelled" --psychiatrist Morgan Scott Peck follows it up with another one on psychology and spirituality. The chapter that captured my interest without let was the one on his theory of psychospiritual development. He delineates four stages, each representing a more mature level of development than the preceding stage.

Peck claims that he arrived at this theory through experience, although he footnotes the fact that there have been many theories on psychological development prior to his, the most recent being a six-stage faith developmental model (see "Stages of Faith" by James W. Fowler)

Although Peck's elucidation of his theory is informal and sketchy, I find his model of psychospiritual development idiosyncratic enough to be regarded as a separate theory by itself.

Peck aptly calls it psychospiritual since it has both psychological and spiritual/religious dimensions. It is much akin to the developmental theories in psychology, yet it has a very strong religious flavor--Stage 1 being the lack of spirituality/ethical behavior, Stage 2 as orthodoxly religious, Stage 3 as a time of religious skepticism or atheism, and Stage 4 the mystical level.

Yet I believe Peck's theory tends to be ethically judgmental in character, i.e., it explicitly holds the higher stages as undeniably better than the lower ones, and tends to describe people in ethical terms--'chaotic/unprincipled' (Stage 1), or dogmatic (Stage 2), or principled (Stage 3)

Nevertheless, I see the veracity of such categories, albeit demanding much care and caution. Pigeonholing, specially in ethical terms, is dangerous business and can easily be misused and abused. However, I believe that Dr. Peck has realized the limitations of his theory and has provided caveats and exceptions in his later books, such as in "Further Along the Road Less Travelled"