By Joe Mancini
Published in December 2011
Local Democracy is a practice we can cultivate by thoughtful engagement and practice. The course that The Working Centre offers in Local Democracy serves as a grassroots forum for debating and discussing how democracy can be extended into everyday relationships through work, community building, education and family life. We worked hard this fall to fill up our fourth offering of this course. We see it as a way to counter the growing reality that large scale institutions are increasing their power over people’s daily lives.
This reality was reinforced during both federal and provincial elections where Democracy seemed to become just another front in the ad wars. We witnessed harsh political ad campaigns that substitute for debates. Is it any wonder that the number of voters continues to decline? Only institutions with the power to be disconnected from people’s lives can get away with treating others with such disrespect.
Nevertheless, we hardly realize how dominating large scale institutions are. At our November 9th class, Ken Westhues described the difference between the world of big integrated corporations and the smaller world of trades and craft people. Big corporations are about controlling the terms, limiting negotiations and insisting the buyer sign away claims to liabilities. Westhues explained that people accept this because this is now how most work is organized. Bureaucracies, both private and public, are the largest employers. In contrast the Local Democracy course helps people to identify how monopolies, centralization and hierarchy are the opposites of Local Democracy.
The rules of bureaucracy dictate how people can act through policies and procedures that limit creativity. The world of small proprietorship is in contrast to bureaucracy. Here competence, skill and enthusiasm for a job well done add up to something much bigger than the job itself. The relationships established through negotiating the work and the candour developed through honest discussion creates friendship. And no matter what type of work we engage in, this is the best result. The reason, emphasized Cicero, was that, ‘to take friendship out of life is to take the sun away from the world.’
Ken likes to say that people tell stories, bureaucrats make policy. Local Democracy is being open to the many stories that people tell when they come together and have the opportunity to express issues that concern them. When people are open to the experience of others then the story telling that they hear will often change them. By listening deeply, they feel and understand the experience of the other. Listening then leads to a longer discussion and debate around the key factors that affect an individual’s experience. This is where people with an open heart apply social analysis, ethics, and judgement, all in a spirit of understanding where an individual has come from and where they want to go. How do we invite ourselves to this deeper listening as a practice of building Local Democracy?
Sometimes a discussion is just a discussion but sometimes it leads to new ideas and creative action like helping someone through a problem. It might mean developing a wider discussion by organizing a movie night to further the debate. It could be a focused activity like establishing a community bike shop or rallying support for a community-based project that helps people establish home businesses. We call this open-ended process the pastoral circle and we have always been impressed by how such processes enliven community. At its root it helps people to reach out to others with the understanding that all involved are trying to make their little part of the world a better place. This is the essence of Local Democracy and the more that we have of it the better our communities will be.
In early November, Stephanie and I had the opportunity to travel to Kentucky where we were hosted at Berea College to talk about The Working Centre. We thoroughly enjoyed our time addressing some College classes, meeting professors, and giving a public presentation. Berea is located at the foothills of the Cumberland Mountains about 75 kilometers from Lexington. It is the Folk Arts and Crafts Capital of Kentucky. When we arrived we found our way into the Appalachian Centre which is a local museum run by the College. Immediately we learned of the pressing issues around coal extraction, craft, civil rights and community organizing. One poster board asks the question, “If the land is so rich, why are so many people poor?” We quickly felt at home, sensing the search for answers to questions of livelihood.
Berea was founded by abolitionists and radical reformers in the 1850’s. It lives out it’s mission through trying to build a world shaped by the power of love over hate, human dignity and equality and peace with justice. This is just some of vision that is called the Great Commitment of Berea College. Students participate through a curriculum that stresses Learning, Service and Labour. 1550 students work in areas like college administration, pottery and woodworking shops, and in the college’s farms, forests, greenhouses and gardens.
Our host was Richard Olson, Director of the Sustainability and Environmental Studies Program (SENS). He hopes to pilot a Community Sustainability Laboratory to involve students in solutions for increased community resilience. Richard proudly showed us the Berea College Ecovillage residential and learning centre where student housing integrates solar panels, straw bale construction, on site composting, family gardens, shared cars, rainwater collection, passive solar design, and a large greenhouse where fish are grown in an aquaponics system that also grows herbs and other vegetables. It is a community that is learning to use less energy, to look after its waste and to teach each other the skills of food production.
The trip highlighted how important exchanges of ideas and culture can be. We had the opportunity to talk about The Working Centre’s experience of integrating ecological projects into the fabric of community. We saw a functioning ecovillage committed to learning how to work with nature instead of against it while teaching how to make a smaller footprint on the earth. What we enjoyed so much about this trip was the lively discussion, the democratic culture, the stories of searching for new directions. Everywhere we turned in Berea we had a sense of an integrated community with a purpose. Local democracy in action is exactly this searching and open discussion towards a better tomorrow.
