Welcome
Introduction
The Elements of Satisfaction
The Universal Properties
Part One: The Shift from Citizen to Consumer
Chapter 1: The Limits of Consumption
Chapter 2: What Did We Lose and Where Did It Go?
Chapter 3: The Effects of Living in a Consumer World
Part Two: Choosing a Satisfied Life
Chapter 4: The Abundant Community
Chapter 5: Community Abundance in Action
Part Three: Creating Abundance
Chapter 6: Awakening the Power of Families and
Neighborhoods
Chapter 7: The Power of Connectors
Notes
Resources
Acknowledgments
Index
About the Authors
John McKnight is emeritus professor of education and social policy
and codirector of the Asset-Based Community Development Institute
at Northwestern University. He is the coauthor of Building
Communities from the Inside Out and the author of The Careless
Society. He has been a community organizer and serves on the boards
of several national organi-zations that support neighborhood
development.
Peter Block is a partner in Designed Learning, a training company
that offers workshops designed by Block to build the skills
outlined in his books. He is the author of Flawless Consulting,
Stewardship, The Answer to How Is Yes, and Community. He is the
recipient of numerous awards, most recently the Organization
Development Network's 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award.
“The Abundant Community is a book that reminds us that our greatest
strength as a people comes from the gifts of caring, aware
communities and neighborhoods.”
—Frances Strickland, educational psychologist and First Lady of
Ohio
“Peter and John provocatively challenge us as individuals to
understand the power of the individual and the potential of our
work together. They also suggest local governments develop new ways
of engaging and connecting residents to develop the assets
available in all communities.”
—Robert J. O’Neill, Jr., Executive Director, International
City/County Management Association
“This is a magnificent book. It is intelligent, but more than that,
it is wise. This book is the kukakuka (deep conversation) between
two kupuna (wise elders), sharing stories, ideas, memories,
regrets, possibilities, and hope and weaving all of it together for
us. Read this book with your mind, heart, and spirit.”
—Puanani Burgess, Principal, One Peace-at-a-Time
“In this slim volume there is theory and there is practice but
above all, hope and a way out of the disconnectedness of our
society. It remind us that the success of the American democratic
experiment lies in the hands of its citizens.”
—James Keene, City Manager, Palo Alto, California
“The Abundant Community presents an elegant and compelling
argument... A powerful statement that can simultaneously enable our
everyday politics and enrich our souls.”
—Carmen Sirianni, Morris Hillquit Professor of Labor and Social
Thought, Brandeis University, and author of Investing in
Democracy
“This book is a remarkable and timely contribution. It proposes an
inspiring alternative that pushes us to engage and reengage on this
entirely possible journey of hope.”
—Jack Pierpoint, Publisher, Inclusion Press
“The Abundant Community is both a gentle awakening and a powerful
call to action. These ideas have inspired a network of community
builders in South Africa.”
—Dr. Louise van Rhyn, founder, Symphonia (South Africa)
“In an era when we look to professions and institutions to address
most of our community needs, or to fix our neighborhood problems,
this book provides the refreshing and empowering perspective that
what we most need exists all around us—a message that is as
relevant in Mumbai as it is in Minneapolis.”
—Mary Coyle, Director; Gordon Cunningham, Assistant Director; and
Alison Mathie, Manager, Research and Publications, The Coady
Institute, and authors of From Clients to Citizens
“We live in a world where every day many people experience
loneliness, anxiety, and want. Many are hoping and wondering when
the ‘big break’ will come. This book contains the map to the buried
treasure. Locked in the secret code ‘invitation, participation,
connection’ is the source of our wealth: our own and our neighbors’
giftedness.”
—Judith Snow, social inventor and peace advocate
“For over thirty-five years John McKnight and his colleagues at
Evanston have labored to clarify the essence of mobilizing
communities for health. Now writing with Peter Block the two offer
us the E = mc2 of health. This book is destined to be a bible for
public health and human services.”
—Dr. John R. Ashton, Chairman, United Kingdom Public Health
Association, and Director of Public Health, Cumbria, England
“This book exposes what economists have missed: the core economy of
community. It provides the vision and the tools that put a life of
mean- ing and abundance within our reach and answers the only two
questions we need to ask: Why are we here? And what kind of world
do we want to leave for those who come after us?”
—Edgar Cahn, founder, Time Banks, and author of No More Throw-Away
People
“Block and McKnight go right to the heart of what we have to pay
atten- tion to and do if we want to live in a better world. Their
book is intelli- gent, practical, and well crafted. Use it to help
make your world better.”
—Adam Kahane, Partner, Reos Partners, and author of Power and
Love
“This book gives us a new lens by which to see heretofore unseen
limi- tations on and new possibilities for communal life. A useful
guide for community organizers like me.”
—Jimmy Toyama, Columnist, Nurturing Our Taro Patches,
The Paradise Post
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