Today we began our more conceptually oriented part of the semester, by talking about the theory and practice of community development.  We discussed the central contradiction with which many scholars and activists are concerned, and that underlies the struggles of all your community contacts: (Place-based) Communities are necessary for our current mode of production/political economic system (global capitalism) to function; but that very system is making it increasingly difficult for communities to function- its priorities are not on meeting human needs or cultivating relationships that help meet those needs, but rather on economic growth and expansion.  As capitalism grows and expands, place-based communities have less and less control over the means of production (the materials, relationships, and practices) used to produce capitalist goods and commodities) and of social reproduction (the materials, relationships, and practices) used to take care of, educate, etc. ourselves and each other, aka the labor force).

The readings for today provide an overview of this contradiction, and how it has been shaped historically by public policies and community development practices.  The chapter by James DeFilippis focuses specifically on the issue of community control (over production and social reproduction), which can be seen in the context of today’s readings and discussion as both necessary and impossible- to achieve, institutionalize, inscribe into policies, infuse into organizing, etc. in order for things to change.  As the semester goes on, we will keep coming back to these contradictory concepts and dynamics in terms of why they persist and what can be done about them, through the readings and your group projects.