December 19th, 2007
"We live in a world where power is very unbalanced. Power imbalances are at the root of most social problems. Correcting power imbalances will go a long way towards solving many problems at once. We’d be wise to attend to this no matter what issues we work on."
-John and Tom Atlee
I do not mean to look a gift horse in the mouth. I commend the folks that have contributed their own wealth and their own time to the Building Bright Futures initiative…it looks to be a massive investment. I am excited that we have community leaders that understand that investing in people is even more beneficial than investing in buildings. I do, however have some concerns about the approrach being taken. I am not actively involved with the initiative, but from what I can see, this initiative is proceeding like many initiatives that end up having much less real impact than they could. It appears to be a very traditional, hierarchial approach with a lot of "we are here with our well paid consultants to give you the answers about how to fix yourselves" thinking. This approach, which is often connected to some wonderful intentions, rarely turns out well.
Take the website for example. The real power of the internet is that it is an amazing tool for sharing power. If Building Bright Futures is to have any real impact it will be about sharing power…it will be about power with, rather than power over. I see none of this exhibited on their website. They are not unique in this, most organizations (for-profit and not-profit) do not really understand it yet, but it is critical to the success of this effort. If they are not able to make shared power a fundamental component of what they do and how they do it and why they do it, all parties involved will end up walking away less than satisfied. This happens all the time. The BBF website is not about sharing power…it is not about empowerment in any way…it is about providing a controlled message. While the website is only one aspect of the work being done, it leads me to wonder about whether or not the folks implementing this effort are in relationship with the people they are allegedly working for…because I doubt that this website speaks to them. What role is there for students…for parents…for teachers…for neighbors. Which task force is being directed by students…which one is being led by youth that have dropped out of school. I do not see power being shared. It makes me wonder about the quality of the ideas and the power of the questions they are asked. It makes me wonder about the philosophy underlying this effort.
I hate to see this have less of an impact than it needs to. When it comes to real social change, the role of executives, consultants and so-called experts is often sorely misunderstood. The answers lie with the people…all of the answers. The role of executives, consultants and experts is not to provide the answers…it is to assist in the process of bringing those answers forth from the people. If you are not giving voice to the people and acting accordingly, you are implementing your ideology based on your assumptions and likely doing more harm than good. Real social change must involve diffusion of power.
You can (obviously) come to your own conclusions. Here is a great handout (from the good folks at Tools for Change), that points out some of the common behaviors characterizing a relationship that is based on the principles of power over, rather than shared power.
I have no doubt that everyone invovled with BBF has the best of intentions. This is not about intentions, this is about what actually works.
"Any situation in which some individuals prevent others from engaging in the process of inquiry is one of violence. The means used are not important; to alienate human beings from their own decision making is to change them into objects. Apart from inquiry, apart from the praxis, individuals cannot be truly human. Knowledge emerges only through the relentless, impatient, continuing, hopeful inquiry human beings pursue in the world, with the world and with each other."
-Paulo Freire
Few "leaders", elected representatives, philanthropists, foundations and other well meaning entities understand what the great Paulo Freire said and that is why most change initiatives do not actually take root and deliver sustainable change. Far too much time, energy and capital are directed towards control (control of message, process, perception, etc.) and there is no effort made to share power. If BBF does not understand what Freire has said here, it will be of little long-term significance, regardless of the investment made.