Power inequalities hurt us most
THE evidence shows clearly that social inequalities damage people and communities. Academics, political leaders, service managers and front-line staff – all agree that inequalities hurt our society as a whole.
A persuasive case can be made that income inequality ‘drives’ unequal outcomes – in the jargon ‘upstream income inequality makes downstream outcomes inequality more likely.’
Perhaps there’s a more distant inequality, even further upstream, which (in a sense) causes income inequality and the range of damaging outcomes that flow from that.
Perhaps that deeper and more damaging inequality facing us is the unequal distribution of power within society. Perhaps a redistribution of power is what is needed to build ‘the good society.’
Being with each other enriches us all
AS the poet said, ‘No man (sic) is an island…’ We each depend on others to make our lives meaningful. We need people to provide our water supply, and grow our food, to educate us and keep us well.
The case can be made, though, that we derive benefits from simply being with each other – not for any ulterior motive, but just because we are social beings – communion enriches our lives.
Participative approaches not only deliver better outcomes which last longer, the very act of engaging with each other feels good – at a gut level.
In the words of T S Eliot – pardon my emphases:
When the Stranger says: “What is the meaning of this city?
Do you huddle close together because you love each other?”
What will you answer? “We all dwell together
To make money from each other”? or “This is a community“?
Community Empowerment & Renewal Bill
The Scottish Government is consulting on a Community Empowerment and Renewal Bill under three themes: Strengthening Community Participation, Unlocking Enterprising Community Development, and Renewing Our Communities.
EVOC – in conjunction with the Edinburgh Partnership and Neighbourhood Partnerships – is running a ThinkSpace engagement including an event in the Business Centre, City Chambers, from 2pm to 4.30pm on Thursday 23rd August.
The Engagement begins here – tell us what you think about Participation, Renewal and Unlocking Enterprise.
You can view the Programme online.
If you’d like to attend the event, please register via EventBrite.
Twitter-friendly
If you use Twitter:
Follow @CommEmpower for updates from the Scottish Government, and @evoc_edinburgh for updates from EVOC.
Engage with @evoc_ian and @evoc_milind.
Please consider using the hashtags #ScotCERB and #ThinkSpace
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