A powerful, inspiring, and achievable vision of a society based on
cooperation and community instead of competition and commodification.
This book counters the dominant and destructive story that we are
polarized, violent, selfish, and destined to consume everything in
sight. That is not who we are.
The challenge, Peter Block says, is that we are suffering under an
economic theology that is based on scarcity, self-interest, competition,
and infinite growth. We're told we can purchase and outsource all that
matters. Block calls this the "business perspective narrative." It
dominates not only the economy but also architecture, faith communities,
journalism, arts, neighborhoods, and much more.
Block offers an antidote: the "common good narrative." It embodies the
belief that we are basically communal and cooperative. And that we have
the capacity to communally produce what we care most about: raising a
child, safety, livelihood, health, and a clean and sustainable
environment.
This book describes how shifts to the common good perspective could
transform many areas, fostering journalism that reports on what works,
architecture that designs habitable spaces creating connection, faith
collectives that build community, a market that is restrained and local,
and leadership and activism that build social capital by creating trust
among citizens. With these shifts, we would fundamentally change the
world we live in for the better.