Communal Trends

The telltale signs are still random and far from settled. But they already remind me that community has not become a thing of the past. Among these signs are:

The surge of voluntarism that has made nonprofit instutition and organizations a vital sector in many countries
The rise of local communities in the developing world to a new level of empowerment and purpose
The resurgence of family values and civility in place of the old fixation on individualism and personal lifestyles
The new concern over responsibilities compared to a selfish obsession with individual rights
The growing interest of corporate culture in norms, values, and social responsibility
The devolution of many tasks from big governments and institutions to the private sector, citizens’ groups, and even families
The growing prominence of issues that have little to do with power of the creation of wealth and everything to do with the quality of life on the planet, such as the care of the environment
The revival of religious feelings amid the secular world of the marketplace roots or builds relationships anywhere. We end up having a nodding acquaintance with people in the neighborhood. Individualism is our culture, and this determines the breadth and depth of our relationships. Only one can flourish, and at the expense of the other. In the pioneering days, individualism could survive because the objective was to build a homestead and acquire personal property. Now we are faced with the task of building a community and a society, which means interdependence, interconnectedness, and integration. Exclusivity must give way to inclusivity if living in peace and harmony is our objective.

Grandfather (his grandfather was Mohandas K. Gandhi) once listed for me the causes for all violence in human life:

Wealth without work
Pleasure without conscience
Knowledge without character
Commerce without morality
Science without humanity
Worship without sacrifice
Politics without principle
Rights without responsibilities

The choice before humanity in the next millennium, therefore, is to learn to respect life or live to regret it.

— Arun Gandhi