Community is, essentially, the opposite of Consumerism. Consumerism is concerned with the acquisition of material goods in a competitive manner while community is concerned with the acquisition of positive relationships in a cooperative manner. It means Caring - both for the present inhabitants of the planet as well as future ones. It implies a just sharing of world resources. At its core it is the principle of Cooperation, while the core of consumerism is competition. Community’s scientific face is “social capital,” a more formal sociological definition, which includes the study of the value of relationships as contrasted to consumer goods.

Community is a word always used in two different contexts. First, it is the name of a particular kind of local population group. Our description of that local group is “‘a few thousand’ people living within an area of ‘a few square miles.’” The second, and more important context, defines the “qualities” of society. These qualities include social traits such as mutual trust, mutual confidence and mutual obligation along with loyalty to general principles. It is the “qualities” of people raised in the tradition of the small community that is the important factor in the definition.

The Move from Small Communities
In 1900 almost every community in America was a small community with a “local” economy. Today approximately 80 percent of the population lives in urban areas. About 20 percent (approximately 55 million people) live in small towns or communities. There are 2,000 counties in the country that have been identified as “rural,” which is one way to describe an area of small communities. There are between 10,000 and 15,000 towns and villages that fit the pattern of small communities. They are distributed around the country, fewer in the densely populated coastal states and more in the middle of the country, as well as in the less densely populated coastal areas.

A century ago, almost all small communities were farming communities. At that time half the population was farmers. Today only 2-3 percent of the population is farmers. Still 20 percent of the people live in small towns. Obviously, the small community now is more varied than the farming communities of old, and many of them have become places to live while commuting to work in a nearby city. In addition to farming communities, one finds small communities that are the locations of colleges and universities. Many small communities do manufacturing. And, as service workers become an ever increasing percentage of the work force, service communities have evolved. Some communities have become the residencies of people in poverty, dependent on some form of welfare support. The demographic variety of small communities has increased rapidly since the days when “small” was associated with farming.

Many Americans think that what is small (and also “local”) is unimportant – and that bigness is the measure of significance. Yet it is often the details and particulars of ordinary living that determine the quality of our lives. Historically the small community has represented the best of the culture’s character. We believe that the small community is important because it has in it the basic values – particularly in terms of our relationships with others – which are eternal and universal. The history of America throughout the 20th century was the movement of people from rural life to urban life. In that sense the populations of small communities were some of the immigrants to our cities and they brought an important set of values to cities. But as more and more generations are born into the cities, problems arise, showing up as extreme poverty, violence, competition, and individualism.

A Return to Community
During the period of the Great Depression, it was common for many people who were suffering economic difficulties and job loss to return to the homes of their parents. It brought them in contact with values that had been lost in the famous period of the Roaring 20s. Today, there is a similar need for many people to “return home.” People need an option to the current trends of industrialization, urbanization, globalization and rugged individualism. Environmental degradation, financial scandals, and a threatening world situation require a different mode of life – one that optimizes both physical and human resources. This option is the Small Community.