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The Communitarian Update
Number 59
January 16, 2004
Tell us what you think!
This winter, about 10 percent of the population of North Korea will stop receiving food rations
from the World Food Program. The UN agency reported that donor nations have only granted 62
percent of the food donations it requested this year. In part, this reluctance to contribute seems
due to international frustration with the North Korean government’s apparent preference to spend
its meager funds on weapons--including weapons of mass destruction--and leave its starving
population to be fed by outside charities. Is this response by the international community
justified? Should innocents suffer for the sins of their leaders, or is it worth it in the long run to
place pressure on a government that stands as a major obstacle to world peace? (One may say
that if we conducted ourselves differently, we would have never arrived at this Sophie’s Choice.
But here we are.)
For more info, go to http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/11/international/asia/11KORE.html
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Special Announcements
We invite you to join us for:
The Communitarian Summit: An Agenda for the Next Four Years
July 9-11, 2004, Washington, D.C.
On the campus of The George Washington University
Meet with scholars and practitioners to discuss communitarian issues. Our themes include
Communitarian Theory and Philosophy, Beyond Relativism, From Empire to Community,
Recapturing our Holidays, and Rights & Responsibilities in the Age of Terrorism. The keynote
addresses during the conference will be given by noted intellectuals, including Professor Francis
Fukuyama of the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins
University. Other scholars who have agreed to join us include Benjamin Barber, Arthur Caplan,
Ezekiel Emanuel, and Cass Sunstein.
For more information and to register please visit us online:
http://www.gwu.edu/~ccps/Communitarian_Summit.html
Eastern Sociological Society Annual Meeting
February 19-22, 2004
Roosevelt Hotel
Madison at 45th
New York, NY
Professor Amitai Etzioni will speak during two sessions at the Eastern Sociological Society's
annual meeting:
“Academics as Public Intellectuals: Historic Moments and Autobiography ”
Friday, February 20, 2004, 2:00-3:40 pm
Presider: Cynthia Fuchs Epstein, CUNY-Graduate Center
Panel:
Amitai Etzioni, The George Washington University
Michael Walzer, Institute for Advanced Study
Alan Wolfe, Boston College
“From Empire to Community”
Friday, February 20, 2004, 3:50-5:30 pm
Join Amitai Etzioni, Stanley Aronowitz, and Robert Jervis for this roundtable on the future of the American
empire.
News of Interest
Study: Rising Television Violence
A recently released study by the Parents Television Council counted 534 violent incidents on
American television during the two-week November "sweeps" period as compared with 292
during the same time period in 1998. According to the study, Fox led the networks in violent
incidents. Four stations, ABC, Fox, the WB, and UPN aired more than twice the number of
violent acts that they showed four years ago. NBC was the only network that had decreased
levels of violence compared to 1998. The study also found that the nature of the violence is
becoming more serious. In 2002, the Council counted 156 incidents involving guns or other
weapons compared to 67 such incidents in 1998. To read the study, go to
http://www.parentstv.org/ptc/publications/reports/stateindustryviolence/main.asp
Study: Americans Volunteer More
According to a Bureau of Labor Statistics study, 63.8 million Americans volunteered at some
point between September 2002 and September 2003, up from 59.8 million the year before. Over
the past year the volunteer rate also grew from 27.4% in 2002 to 28.8% in 2003. The study
compared volunteer rates across demographic lines and found that women, college graduates, and
those in the 35-44 age group were more likely to do volunteer work. Volunteering among
teenagers has risen substantially, most likely due to school-sponsored volunteer activity. To see
the rest of the study, visit http://www.bls.gov/news.release/volun.nr0.htm
Poll: More Americans Think UN Should Take the Lead in Iraq
A December 2003 poll conducted by the Program on International Policy Attitudes found that
60% of Americans think that the reconstruction of the Iraqi government is going too slowly,
compared to 31% who think that it is going at the right speed and 5% who think that it is going
too fast. The Program’s director believes that this impatience with reconstruction may be the
biggest reason why a strong 71% of the public now agrees that the UN should "take the lead to
work with Iraqis to write a new constitution and build a new democratic government;" an
increase from 64% who agreed in June and 50% in April of last year. To read the rest of the
results of the poll, see http://www.pipa.org/OnlineReports/Iraq/qnnaire_12_03.pdf
Publications of Interest
"Kappa Delta Pi Record: Citizenship and Service," Winter 2004
Recommends ways to teach the values of democratic citizenship and service effectively. Articles
focus on a wide range of teaching methods on topics including strategies to overcome social
injustice, technology and civic education, assessment tools to identify levels of civic involvement
amongst students, and democracy in the classroom. To order the issue, go to
http://www.kdp.org/publications_record.asp
"When Prevention Can Kill: Minnesota and the Smallpox Vaccine Program," by Kirsten
Lundberg (John F. Kennedy School of Government, 2003)
Case study of the Minnesota government’s attempt to mandate smallpox vaccinations for health
workers who would be the first to respond to a bio-terror attack. Describes the dilemma faced by
policy-makers to determine if the sometimes fatal nature of the vaccine itself was worth the
public benefit of emergency preparedness. Analyzes the many issues involved in adopting
policies to protect the public against non-traditional weapons of terror. To order the report, visit
http://www.ksgcase.harvard.edu/case.htm?PID=1709
"Behind the Gates: Life, Security and the Pursuit of Happiness in Fortress America," by Setha
Low (Routledge, 2003)
Charts the retreat of the American middle class, from young married couples to retirees, into
gated, suburban communities. Attributes this trend to fears about crime and declining property
values, among other factors. Draws on case studies and statistics that show that ironically, gated
communities are no safer than other neighborhoods and residents of these communities often end
up feeling frustrated with their insular, restrictive nature. Uses the gated community phenomenon
to examine changes in American middle class values. To purchase the book, go to
http://www.routledge-ny.com/books.cfm?isbn=0415944384
"Reinventing the Melting Pot: The New Immigrants and What it Means to be American," edited
by Tamar Jacoby (Basic Books, 2004)
Compilation of essays by scholars, journalists, and fiction writers about the current status of
immigration. Uses both case studies and historical analysis to evaluate whether or not the concept
of the "melting pot" is still valid today. Argues that despite the fact that ethnic identity plays a
stronger role now than it ever has in the past, immigrant absorption into American society still
works and today’s immigrant groups will continue to redefine our national identity in a way that
will enrich America’s national life. To buy the book, visit
http://www.perseusbooksgroup.com/perseus-cgi-bin/display/0-465-03634-1
Article of Interest
"Citizenship Begins At Home: A New Approach to the Civic Integration of Immigrants"
by Peter Skerry, in The Responsive Community, Winter 2003/04
Using The Resurrection Project of Chicago as a prime example, Skerry proposes a new synthesis
in U.S. immigrant policy that holds within it the potential to not only naturalize, but to also
suitably integrate immigrants into American society.
For more information about The Responsive Community, visit www.communitariannetwork.org.
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