This analysis is especially adroit at teasing out the role "community" can or
cannot play in well-being.
Similar to the analysis provided at  http://www.axiomnews.ca/2003/June/jun24.htm

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John Barber, Globe and Mail, August 12

What do you mean by "community," white man?

A fair question, given the central role that otherwise friendly word has played
in the nasty business of laying blame for the violence and hopelessness that
flourish in the desperately poor public-housing projects of Toronto.


Liberals once blamed "society" for the antisocial habits of cast-off, dead-end
groups and individuals, choosing a word that implicitly acknowledged widespread
responsibility for the problems as well as the need for comprehensive solutions.
But those in power today rarely use that word, for exactly those reasons. Even
the remaining liberals seem to acknowledge the futility of relying on any
critique that embraces such lost causes as guaranteed annual incomes or
universal access to high-quality education. So the focus of blame shifts to
"communities" instead.


Although it is still considered wrong to blame victims for their own misfortune,
blaming so-called communities for the crimes of people who happen to look like
them seems to have become the accepted compromise. But the effect is the same: a
sneaky, insincere, massive offloading of social responsibility.


Public Safety Minister Bob Runciman betrayed a fundamental cowardice when he
attacked some black leaders for supposedly "making a living off some of this" --
presumably the incessant murders and violence of the housing projects -- but
refused to name any of the alleged malefactors. (It's a community thing, see.)


But Mr. Runciman's elaboration on the unnamed leaders' failings was even more
depressing. The still-anonymous bad guys he fingered, the minister said, are
"people who don't accept any degree of responsibility for trying to solve the
problems and challenges and misunderstandings."


That sounds a lot more like any number of Tory cabinet ministers than the
largely obscure leaders of the so-called black community. Indeed, refusing to
accept responsibility for social problems is a key tenet of the current
government's ideology. Whether they want to lower taxes or promote
self-reliance, the Tories' guiding principle is always small government -- and
that means a direct repudiation of the old liberal dreams of social justice
achieved through vigorous intervention.


So it is beyond bizarre now to hear one of them accusing some powerless
"community leaders" of "failing to accept any degree of responsibility for
trying to solve their problems."


Why should a marginal group with little hope of achieving any change undertake a
task that the powerful government of Ontario has itself repudiated? Why are
black people more responsible for doing this than white people? Or does the word
"community" as used in this context refer exclusively to groups of disadvantaged
people singled out and forbidden, by ideological decree, from making claims on
"society"?


Ideology, unfortunately, is real; small government has consequences. And while
Tory ministers hunt down scapegoats, the streets of Toronto only become meaner
and more dangerous.


That wouldn't be the case if the law-and-order policies they espouse actually
worked. But it doesn't seem to matter how much more they spend on policing;
every fresh outrage prompts new demands for more resources.


No wonder the cops are fed up: Despite their best efforts, they are clearly
losing the fight against street violence in Toronto.


So who's to say the "community" will do any better? The community can't raise
welfare rates to survival levels. The community can't provide decent schools or
even basic recreational facilities for itself. The community can't replace the
dozens, even hundreds of cancelled government programs designed to break down
the ever-hardening ghettos in the neglected housing projects.


Governments can, lest we forget -- and at one time they did. But in case they
prefer not to, they should at least refrain from blaming others for the
consequences.


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