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Community Technology
Book by Karl Hess
- GenresPoliticsTechnology
120 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1979
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 12, 2024
HESS'S BOOK ABOUT HIS EXPERIMENTS IN "PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY"
Karl Hess (1923-1994) covered an extremely broad range of political and social viewpoints over his lifetime: he was a speechwriter for Goldwater during the 1964 campaign (Hess did NOT pen the famous statement, "Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice," however); he worked with the student leftist movement in the 1960s; he collaborated with Murray Rothbard on Libertarian matters; and he embraced anarchism and a form of survivalism in his latter years.
This 1979 book dates from a period when he was involved with "participatory democracy" in a largely African-American low-income community in Washington D.C. He wrote, "To make the point of this book, it is necessary to oppose both those views, the capitalist-socialist one and the hate-science-and-technology one." (Pg. 8)
He states that "Technologies, ways of working, kinds of tools, can be developed, deployed, and maintained at the community level." (Pg. 6) He assumes that most people would prefer to live in a social setting where they "know their neighbors, enjoy their work, and have a full voice in discussing the terms under which the work is done and the living is lived." (Pg. 11)
He argues that if "efficiency" is seen "wholly in terms of satisfying the consumerist mode of human life, then the anonymous city ... is a splendid milieu"; but if one prefers the creative/community mode, "then smaller-scale ways of living together and working together may be viewed as serviceable." (Pg. 23) He testifies that the town meetings were "the most exciting political experiences I have ever had. After tasting a participatory democracy, I would never want to trade it for a merely representative one." (Pg. 41)
He further asserts that if the culture of poverty is to be broken in any black neighborhood, "it will be broken by black people, not by starry-eyed whites talking soul patter." (Pg. 50) He concludes with the statement, "To be. To do. That is community technology." (Pg. 107)
This (somewhat rambling) book is nevertheless highly interesting, and will be of particular value to libertarians, anarchists, and community activists.
Karl Hess (1923-1994) covered an extremely broad range of political and social viewpoints over his lifetime: he was a speechwriter for Goldwater during the 1964 campaign (Hess did NOT pen the famous statement, "Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice," however); he worked with the student leftist movement in the 1960s; he collaborated with Murray Rothbard on Libertarian matters; and he embraced anarchism and a form of survivalism in his latter years.
This 1979 book dates from a period when he was involved with "participatory democracy" in a largely African-American low-income community in Washington D.C. He wrote, "To make the point of this book, it is necessary to oppose both those views, the capitalist-socialist one and the hate-science-and-technology one." (Pg. 8)
He states that "Technologies, ways of working, kinds of tools, can be developed, deployed, and maintained at the community level." (Pg. 6) He assumes that most people would prefer to live in a social setting where they "know their neighbors, enjoy their work, and have a full voice in discussing the terms under which the work is done and the living is lived." (Pg. 11)
He argues that if "efficiency" is seen "wholly in terms of satisfying the consumerist mode of human life, then the anonymous city ... is a splendid milieu"; but if one prefers the creative/community mode, "then smaller-scale ways of living together and working together may be viewed as serviceable." (Pg. 23) He testifies that the town meetings were "the most exciting political experiences I have ever had. After tasting a participatory democracy, I would never want to trade it for a merely representative one." (Pg. 41)
He further asserts that if the culture of poverty is to be broken in any black neighborhood, "it will be broken by black people, not by starry-eyed whites talking soul patter." (Pg. 50) He concludes with the statement, "To be. To do. That is community technology." (Pg. 107)
This (somewhat rambling) book is nevertheless highly interesting, and will be of particular value to libertarians, anarchists, and community activists.
July 1, 2018
Community Technology describes and evangelizes a creative mindset: that local groups can support themselves. By giving story after story of communities building their own waste system, or solar panel arrays, or hydroponic community gardens, Hess convincingly argues that small localities can solve their own technological and economic problems without relying on big business and big government. He emphasizes skill-sharing, the creation of a community technology group, community warehouses, and cooperation with local machine shops, schools, hospitals, and other organized bodies of technical knowledge that can contribute toward the goal of making the community independent. The content is interesting and worthwhile, but I didn't enjoy the layout of the chapters or the flow of the book.
October 18, 2008
A very inspiring grassroots effort with lessons for us all.
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September 23, 2010Community Technology by Karl Hess (1995)
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews