Can a community-based economy be developed that adresses the social needs of low incomes communities though local economic development, and through such projects help those who are marginal to gain a voice that will allow them to have greater control over their lives?
The economic policies of central governments do not appear to help local economies. The market economy takes more out of local communities than it puts into their growth and health. Community Economic Development challenges the notion that the economy be privately owned and controlled, and argues that the economy should both act in the social interest of the local community and be at least partially controlled by it. Howerver, as quickly as these alternative political and social visions are built from the grassroots of community life, the State tries to shape and co-opt them for its own ends. The book explores the limits and potentials of an important part of the new economics.
Contents
- Chapter 1: The Politics Of Community Economic Development, Eric Shragge
- Chapter 2: Five Principles of Sustainable Community Development, Marcia Nozick
- Chapter 3: Democratizing Capital - Alternative Investment Strategies, Marguerite Mendell and Lance Evoy
- Chapter 4: The Loan Circle Programme as a Model of Alternative Community Economics, Tara McMurtry
- Chapter 5: Pointe Ste-Charles: Building a Community Voice, Jean-Marc Fontan
- Chapter 6: The Bois-Francs Experience: Reflections on Two Decades of Community Development, William A. Ninacs
- Chapter 7: Women, Economic Ideology and the Struggle to Build Alternatives, Julie Norton
- Chapter 8: West End Community Ventures and Community Economic Development In a Recession Economy: A Critical Period For a Pilot Projet, Art Stinson
