Consensus Organizing: Building Communities of Mutual Self Interest


Product Description
The first new form of community organizing since Saul Alinsky, this book connects the poor to the rest of society. Written in a logical, teachable, and pragmatic style, Consensus Organizing: Building Communities of Mutual Self Interest is a model of social change for the 21st century. Through real examples, author Mike Eichler illustrates how anyone can practice consensus organizing and help the poor, forgotten, and disempowered.Consensus Organizing: Building Communities of Mutual Self Interest Review
Eichler's new book is a very engaging summary of the consensus method of organizing which he pioneered. Not only is the book informative, but it reads like an extended chat over a hot cup of coffee in Mitchell's diner in the Mon Valley.Eichler's voice in this text is impassioned, analytical, and humorous all at once. He has mastered the art of conveying complicated ideas through the use of memorable and enthralling stories.
Take, or example, his story about how he introduced an audience in Buffalo, New York to the legendary organizer Saul Alinsky. I doubt that anyone can read that passage without finding themselves sitting on the edge of their seat by the time Eichler reaches the story's climax.
Eichler has a story teller's eye for just the right details to make the reader feel as though one is on a journey through the multi-faceted terrain of organizing, yet he never strays far from the lesson he intends to convey.
Eichler also has a passion for social justice, but he does not come off as being preachy or ideological. This has been one of the keys to his success in organizing.
Eichler emphasizes looking for partners with expertise that is relevant to the problem confronting the community; seeking to build relationships with these partners so that the community group and the expert partners have a shared stake in the outcome; and getting everyone involved to frankly articulate their self-interest.
Self-assessment of the diverse assets of the community group and assessments of the assets of potential partners is at the heart of Eichler's approach to neighborhood organizing.
Again and again the organizer must ask: (a) What do we (the community group) have to offer in order to strike a deal? (b) What does our potential expert partner have to offer? (c) How can we cut the deal?
Eichler's passion for community organizing is contagious in an age where there is cynicism and escapist fantasizing in community practice.
If his readers have lost the capacity and the energy to care; if they have lost the ability to believe that good people with sound strategies can still make a difference, then reading Eichler will re-energize them and stimulate their creative juices to go out and become catalysts for social change.
He also provides his readers with opportunities to develop their strategic and analytical skills as he takes them on a tour of US revitalization efforts on the diverse terrain of the urban landscape.
What more can a reader ask for?
Now, about Eichler's take on Madonna...
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