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The Communitarian Update
Number 61
May 7, 2004
Tell us what you think!
In response to a sharp rise in anti-social incidents ranging from public drunkenness to vandalism
to verbal abuse, Britain recently passed a new set of measures that empower officials to crack
down on citizens accused of repeated anti-social behavior. Does punishing transgressions in
behavior further stigmatize already marginalized people who are often themselves victims of
family breakdown, drug abuse, etc? Or should local law enforcement be permitted to use creative
solutions including banning offenders from certain neighborhoods, prohibiting chronic
shoplifters from entering shopping districts, or even preventing former partners in petty crime
from coming into contact with one another? What other kinds of solutions exist to deal with
“neighbors from hell?” To read the story, go to
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10916F6395D0C718CDDAD0894DC404482
Please respond briefly and tell us how to identify you. We do not run anonymous responses
because we hold that true identities make for better dialogues. Please also provide some details
about yourself; if not your affiliation, at least your town and nation, to help us understand your
perspective.
Special Announcements:
Institute of Contemporary Arts -Welcome Event: Science and the Right to Privacy
Speakers will include Amitai Etzioni, Ron Zimmern, Nikolas Rose, Bobbie Jacobson, and Toby Murcott
Monday, May 10, 2004
6:45 pm
Cinema 1, Institute of Contemporary Arts, The Mall, London
For more information, see http://www.ica.org.uk/index.cfm?articleid=13201
***
The New Global Architecture: Institutional Foundations Beyond the United Nations
Swiss Foundation for World Affairs Conference Series
Nitze School of Advanced International Affairs
Amitai Etzioni will discuss his book “From Empire to Community: A New Approach to
International Relations” and a panel will respond
Monday, May 17, 2004
5-7 pm
Moderator: Martin Walker, United Press International
Rome Building Auditorium, 1619 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC
Please RSVP to Ms. Merry C. Lo at mclo@jhu.edu or 202.663.5942.
***
“The Responsive Community” quarterly will publish its last issue: Vol. 14, no. 2-3, Spring-Summer 2004.
News of Interest
Research Shows Ending Social Promotion in School isn’t Effective
In response to recent studies, the Chicago Board of Education has voted to ease its strict
promotion requirements for moving onto the next grade level. New research has shown that in
most cases the policy of ending grade promotion for struggling students resulted in lower test
scores. In addition to restricting the number of times a student would be required to repeat a
grade, the Chicago board also voted to create additional support for students who fell behind,
including full day kindergarten, mandatory summer school, and intensive reading programs.
Other districts across the country are beginning to follow Chicago’s example. To read more, visit
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50610F63E540C768EDDAA0894DC404482
Police Use Blood Samples to Convict Drunk Drivers
In an effort obtain more DUI convictions, eight states have passed laws permitting the police to
use reasonable force in extracting blood samples from drunk driving suspects. Advocates for this
more reliable approach say that increasingly savvy defense attorneys are responsible for the
decline in convictions, which in turn discourages police from making arrests that they may view
as pointless. Critics, among them many emergency room doctors who are compelled under the
new laws to forcibly take blood samples, argue that obtaining blood from uncooperative suspects
is an unprecedented invasion of medical privacy that violates the Hippocratic oath’s emphasis on
prioritizing the needs and desires of the patient.
TV Still isn’t Good for Kids
A study in the April issue of Pediatrics found that “every hour preschoolers watch television each
day boosts their chances-- by about 10 percent-- of developing attention deficit problems later in
life.” The researchers theorized that TV watching among children whose brains are still in the
early stages of development may cause overstimulation and permanent “rewiring” of the brain.
Critics observe that the study did not take television content or parenting styles into account. Dr.
Dimitri Christakis, the lead author of the study, pointed out that “there are lots of reasons for
children not to watch television. Other studies have shown it to be associated with obesity and
aggressiveness.” To read more, go to
http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/parenting/04/05/toddler.tv.ap/
Survey: American Public Worried About Weapons of Mass Destruction
A recent survey found that despite progress in Libya and Pakistan, most Americans believe that
there are still at least 10 countries with secret nuclear weapons programs. When asked what was
the most important lesson to be learned from the discovery that nuclear technology was
transferred from Pakistan to Iran and other countries, 76 percent of Americans said “the US
should seek to strengthen the international effort to stop the spread of nuclear weapons by giving
international agencies more power to conduct intrusive inspections” and 23 percent said the US
should disregard such efforts in favor of more “emphasis on the US threat to use military force
against countries that try to develop nuclear weapons.” Regarding American nuclear capabilities,
while 87 percent thought that the US should participate in the treaty banning all nuclear weapons
testing, 56 percent incorrectly assumed that the US was already a member. To see the full survey,
visit http://www.pipa.org/OnlineReports/WMD/WMDpress_04_15_04.pdf. For a communitarian
perspective on this issue, see http://www.amitai-notes.com/blog/archives/000691.html#more
Publications of Interest
“From Empire to Community: A New Approach to International Relations” by Amitai Etzioni
(Palgrave, 2004)
Argues that nations must adopt a system of global governance in order to confront transnational
problems including terrorism, trafficking in arms and humans, environmental degradation, and
cybercrime. Points to the war on terror, multilateral attempts at deproliferation, and humanitarian
interventions as building blocks of a new international order. Outlines the emergence of a global
synthesis of values, which will meld Western individualism with the Eastern emphasis on
spirituality and community. To learn more, visit http://www.gwu.edu/~ccps/empire.html. For a
discussion of the themes contained in this book, go to
http://www.amitai-notes.com/blog/archives/cat_the_global_community.html
“Parents: A Natural Preventive Against Drugs- The Dutch Experience” by Renee Besseling
(Performance Resource Press, 2004)
Opposes the relaxed drug policies of the Netherlands. Argues that the prevalence of Dutch
“coffee shops,” which sell drugs, pose a serious risk to children, who may grow up desensitized
to the dangers of recreational drug use. Contends that because drugs negatively affect childhood
development, society should take a special interest in protecting tomorrow’s leaders from such a
damaging influence. To purchase the book, go to
http://www.prponline.net/search/Products/Books/book_category_search.asp?page=1&orderby=abbrevDefTopic
“Power and Responsibility in World Affairs: Reformation versus Transformation” by Cathal J.
Nolan (Praeger Publishers, 2004)
Argues that with great power, nations must also accept great responsibility to act in just ways. Explores in practical terms how great powers fulfill their moral responsibilities, including the
internationally agreed-upon obligation to act with prudence and restraint. Includes discussion of
post-cold war humanitarian interventions. To buy the book, see
http://www.greenwood.com/books/BookDetail.asp?dept_id=1&sku=C6669
Articles of Interest
“The Proper Motives of Corporate Directors” by Lynn Stout “The Responsive Community” vol.
14, no. 2-3, Spring-Summer 2004.
One of the most important questions in corporate governance is how directors of public
corporations can be motivated to serve the interests of the firm. Conventional scholarship
wrestles with this question, because it usually adapts the economist’s assumption that directors
are rational actors motivated purely by self-interest. But Stout shows that the homo economicus
model of behavior may be fundamentally misleading when applied to this case, and instead she
offers a foundation for building a model of behavior that is both more accurate and more useful.
It also carries important implications for how we select, educate, regulate, and compensate
corporate directors.
Symposium: Positive Youth Development in “The Annals of the American Academy of Political
and Social Science,” vol. 591, no. 1, November 2003.
Authors examine various aspects of the positive youth development approach to learning, which
seeks to highlight young people’s potential instead of focusing on their deficits. In order to have a
fuller understanding of how young people’s capacities and strengths play out in diverse
communal settings, the authors explore both the theoretical and practical aspects of this approach
to teaching and evaluation. For more, go to http://www.aapss.org/section.cfm/4
The Communitarian Network invites you to:
Order communitarian books by Amitai Etzioni, Edward W. Lehman, Daniel A. Bell, and Philip
Selznick at a 40-50% discount! For more information, please visit
http://www.gwu.edu/~ccps/order.html
Check Out Our Website and Weblog! Head to http://www.communitariannetwork.org for
communitarian publications, events, news, and ideas. Visit http://www.amitai-notes.com/blog for
current communitarian musings.
Send us your news. If you have news that highlights the communitarian perspective please
forward it to comnet@gwu.edu with "News" in the subject line.
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