The Drucker Foundation: The Community of the Future (J-B Drucker Foundation Series)

The American writer Willaim Saroyan once said, "In the time of your life, live---so that in that wondrous time you shall not add to the misery and sorrow of the world, but shall smile to the infinite delight and mystery of it." In this time of global terrorism, rising oil prices, climatic disruption and political decay, hope is an increasingly scarce resource. Leadership too is becoming a perception to be managed and not a trait to be displayed. West African writer and teacher Malidoma Some declares that we have "an instinct of community," and so as societies grow and evolve, they build up resevoirs of social capital, taking generations to fill. This instinct for community -- toward cooperation and competition, or so called 'co-opetition' by Brandenberger & Nalebuff -- is so strong in humans that we come into this world stocked with such emotions as anger, pride, shame, and guilt -- all of which, according to Fukuyama, "come into play in response to people who either are honest and cooperate, or who cheat and break the rules. Yet the promise of this communal synthesis is being degraded as we "are using the instinct of community to separate and protect us from one another, rather than creating a global culture of diverse yet interwoven communities." Based on the interdependent models available to us in eco-systems theory, there is the possibility to "to connect to others through their diversity, [to re-establish] communities that succeed in creating sustainable [long-term] relationships." It is the collaboration and cooperation of individuals in elaborate interdependent networks of relationships that allows new capabilities and talents to emerge. Individual fitness leads to greater societal and communal fitness and the connections and relationships strengthen and reinforce the fabric of society. Yet as individuals weave this social fabric, a paradox is created -- the individual must surrender autonomy to achieve community. This paradoxical tension can lead to even greater awareness and understanding of the role of the individual in society, or it may contain the seed of our eventual self-destruction. As Wheatley proclaims, "This paradox can be a great teacher to us humans. When we don't answer these questions as a community, when we have no agreements about why we belong together, the institutions we create to serve us become battle grounds that serve no one. Our institutions dissipate into incoherence and impotence. In the absence of these agreements, our instinct of community leads us to a community of 'me' not a community of 'we'." Such is the paradox and the promise of community.

basically satisfied with everything. the book came in good condition and was pretty much on time.

Before WW I, fewer that 5% of the population lived in a city. Today in developed countries, less that 5% live in a rural area. All of this has occured in less than 100 years.The key to survival and health of this new urban society is the development of communities in the city, by non-profit social sector insititutions, according to Peter Drucker.Human beings need community. If no communities are available for constructive ends, there will be destructive communities, i.e. gangs to fill the void.This thoughtfully written, well organized book is about the future -- the future quality of our lives. In "The Community of the Future", the editors have gathered the wisdom and insights from 31 distinguished authors, from around the world, to discuss their unique perspective on the nature of community.The book is divided into six sections: * Trends Shaping the Evolution of the Community * The Values of Community * The Impact of New Communication Technology * Creating Community in Organization * Strengthening the Social Fabric * Global Dimensions of Community.If you are interested in creating the future, strengthening our communities and improving our understanding of our world, I highly recommend "The Community of the Future".Building the global community of the future is not the work of tomorrow. We are each called to build it today -- to build it now.