Autonomy

Problem definition and problem solving will become more relevant, more affordable and more effective when organized and led by locals.

It may or may not be more efficient—that's depends on what value one is trying to optimize. For instance, if you are trying to optimize the profitability or viability of an external service organization, their services may tend to be less needed as the community develops its own capacities.

Elinor Ostrom has shown us that the management oversight needed for local productivity is mostly provided for free—no money is exchanged. This is only possible because the management functions occur in the course of other activities, they are a nearly free side benefit of living in face-to-face proximity. Small co-op businesses experience this advantage too.

Actual parents pay for the privilege of being parents. They are not paid for the work. The product that gives them value, that is more than worth all the effort, is the child, and the satisfying experience of participating in the mysterious development of another human being.

Paternalistic organizations, however; are not very parent-like. They need to be paid. They simulate parent-like behaviors for money, claiming all the while parent-like affiliation with their subjects. Not being members of the neighborhood they can not rightly claim affiliation—only empathy or sympathy. They are not in the same boat. At best, they may act as more or less capable foster parents—on salary. Getting our neighborhoods out of foster “care” programs as soon as possible is critical to the wellbeing of the neighborhood, its households, and to society. Let's stop this unnecessary infantilization of our neighborhoods through external organizations attempting to provide false parenthood which engenders co-dependency rather than capability.

In neighborhoods, we can replace paid paternalism with real family and friends. At least this is the potential in functioning neighborhoods. It takes a neighborhood to (humanely) raise a child. Similarly it takes a neighborhood to sustainably provide food, housing, security, transportation, education, work, and affiliation. We should look for ways to stop farming out our neighborliness to paid outsiders. If we need to augment the neighborhood economy (the way we take care of each other) let’s do it with exchanges of our time rather than money as often as possible. Pay back with our time, our face-to-face help, rather than faceless money and foreign commodities.