On Wednesday, July 21, Hudson Institute’s Bradley Center was honored to host a discussion of a new book by John McKnight and Peter Block, The Abundant Community: Awakening the Power of Families and Neighborhoods. In an age when “community organizer” has become a somewhat controversial job title, McKnight continues to argue for an approach to community that touches important themes for both left and right. An unapologetic critic of capitalism and large corporations, he is equally skeptical of the heavy-handed “professional services” that large government typically offers as solutions to society’s problems. His now well-established alternative is “asset-based community development,” which calls us to treat low-income neighborhoods as well-springs of resources, rather than as backwaters of pathology.
