The Policy Farm Team

Hilary Doe
University of Michigan Ford School of Public Policy

The problems America’s urban populations face seem to be mounting all the time. From the devastating effects of pollution and poverty-related obesity to the economic burdens of pregnancy and childcare, the poorest members of our cities suffer mounting injury as our states and cities continue to face hard times. As we search for a crucial solution to alleviate such struggles, however, I believe we must look beyond national governmental action, or the regulation of local bureaucracy. Rather, there is great potential for policies and programs that refocus claims of citizens rights onto the responsibilities of citizenship that we all have, and the steps that we, as members of a locality, should feel required to take for the benefit of our community–in these tough times, with these mounting risks, it would do us well to explore the communitarian solution.

Communitarian action has proven extremely beneficial in those areas where residents have taken responsibility for their neighbors well-being onto themselves. For example, in the poorest areas of Chicago, local residents, without work, underserved by grocery stores, and too impoverished to provide healthy food for their families, decided to care for the needs of their community on their own. Some of the neighborhoods older members began producing essential fruits and vegetables by tending gardens on the roofs of their buildings. As a result, the oldest and youngest members of the community were given fruitful work to do, other members were able to purchase previously unattainable fresh vegetables and fruits at cheaper prices than the few and far between supermarkets were able to offer, and foot traffic in the bustling outdoor market increased to remind residents what life without such hardship could be like.

Additionally, community-bred programs are generally well-received by residents. Instead of having regulations and programs imposed upon them by the government who has seemed so unreliable in the past, many members of impoverished communities prefer to support “homegrown” efforts. In many inner cities, for example, locally operated childcare and pregnancy centers receive donations and support from neighbors above and beyond what is required. They provide necessary services and education in a way that is accessible, relatable, and never intimidating–something that government programs often fail to boast–and they are not spurred by an increased tax or a government sponsored subsidy, but by the will of the community seeking to help themselves and their neighbors.

This is not to say that taxes and subsidies are unfounded and unnecessary. That is certainly not the case. However, in a time when people are in need of urgent action, states are lacking necessary funds to provide for their citizens, and bureaucracy seems to have “shutdown” (as states fail to operate for lack of a budget), it is comforting to realize that a few community members, choosing to focus on their responsibilities to their friends and their abilities to provide, are able to effect positive change all by themselves. The aforementioned “communitarian” solution cannot solve all of our problems, but taking the responsibility to try upon our backs will certainly help.

In this way, rights talk is not always productive. Rather, when demanding what we deserve, we are sometimes best served by doing what we should feel required to do for the benefit of our communities as a whole. Therefore, in these tight times, while facing extremely high risks, the most effective short-run policies and campaigns may be those that encourage community cooperation and ingenuity outside of government action.