• Part 2: Commodifying Community Development (feat. Dr. Agnes Thomas)

  • Jan 16 2022
  • Length: 28 mins
  • Podcast

Part 2: Commodifying Community Development (feat. Dr. Agnes Thomas)

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  • Summary

  • Today's episode is about surplus. I feel like the Bible has a lot to say about storing things up for later. The Bible almost promotes this ‘eat now and don't worry about tomorrow’ kind of thinking, which sounds pretty irresponsible right? But what if actions, that only have impact for the moment, that don't have a multiplying effect, acts that no one sees, that no one catagloues for a newsletter, what if our acts of service was an ends to itself. These hidden acts occur regularly within the social sector, but what I’ve come to realize is that the acts that really get attention and reward are the ones that produce surplus, it's the acts of service that have a muliplying effect and create broader impact. And that completely makes sense in a capitalistic mindset. But what do you say to a community worker when they put in countless hours investing their time and labour into being present with a street youth who has been through unimaginable trauma. In a market-centred mindset, the cost-benefit analsysis doesn't add up. The outcomes don’t correspond to the investment. In our day, the expectation is to do more with less. Not to do seemingly less with more. But when you work in the margins, when you work with the exception to the rule, efficient strategies, ones where you try to do more with less don’t always pan out. In today’s episode, I continue my conversation with Dr. Agnes Thomas, the Director of Catholic Crosscultural Services. We discuss these questions further and seek a way forward that acknowledges the wide spectrum of actions that impact the people we serve. You can learn more about Catholic Crosscultural Services at https://www.cathcrosscultural.org/
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