John McKnight > Quotes

“Here is the rub: Systems that are constructed for order cannot provide satisfaction in domains that require a unique and personal human solution. They are unable to provide the satisfaction that they promise because of their very nature. This is not a critique of any individual’s leadership or method of operation. It is that systems have a limit; by their nature, they cannot provide prosperity or peace of mind or a life of satisfaction.”
― John McKnight, Abundant Community: Awakening the Power of Families and Neighborhoods

“Whereas associations are organized to express the properties and capacities of a competent community, systems are organized to produce services and products.”
― John McKnight, Abundant Community: Awakening the Power of Families and Neighborhoods

“In adopting system life, people choose to yield sovereignty in exchange for the promise of predictability. Even families and communities turn over their sovereignty for the promise of a safe and predictable future.”
― John McKnight, Abundant Community: Awakening the Power of Families and Neighborhoods

“Consumer society begins at the moment when what was once the province or function of the family and community migrates to the marketplace.”
― John McKnight, Abundant Community: Awakening the Power of Families and Neighborhoods

“Systems use relationships to produce products and services. Associations create relationships for their own sake. This has the effect of bringing forth the properties of kindness, generosity, and the rest.”
― John McKnight, Abundant Community: Awakening the Power of Families and Neighborhoods