© Better World Institute

Mission: "What is better and how do we get there?"

* To educate the public about what's been learned about human behavior and expand public dialogue about how to make a better world.

* To invent social resources and social solutions.

A Public Education Approach To Community Development

Understanding human behavior, we can begin to create a world in which people flourish and we have fewer social problems in the first place.

1. Empathy is the core of what we mean by civilization. Democracy is a commitment to take each other into account. It is a dialogue about needs, concerns and perspectives.

2. All the great religions agree the key to living together on earth is the Golden Rule. Win-win solutions are not religious pie in the sky. They are the heart of any good business deal. They are also the only realistic formula for a lasting world peace.

3. Liberals and conservatives have been arguing for centuries over whether people are basically good or evil. The truth is we can go either way. All the many cultures across human history have shown human beings can be very good and they can be very bad. It's the human potential. We can create a world that brings out our best -- or one that brings out our worst.

4. Society at odds with human needs pays the price in social problems. Based on what psychology and sociology have learned about human needs, we could begin to craft a political agenda in the human interest.

5. If we blame only individuals, we'll never get wise to the game. Behind the scenes, the rich and powerful rig the game for their own benefit. We need to understand the tricks and how voters get manipulated. Democracy demands the conversation about how to make a better world takes place front stage and includes us all.

6. Sociology and psychology know a considerable amount about the social causes of what's been called evil and what misguided strategies only make it stronger. Relying on force alone to keep us safe is expensive, ineffective and ultimately, dangerous.

7. There are both individual and social aspects of responsibility. Of course, individuals are responsible for their behavior. However, if we as a society know how to prevent social problems and don't do anything about them, aren't we also responsible?

8. Until we understand how bureaucracy gets created in our lives, we'll continue to make the same mistakes and weave the very web we curse.

9. Government cannot (and should not) do everything, but it can do something. The awaited synthesis between liberals and conservatives is asking, what kinds of social resources would be helpful to individuals in their struggles?

10. Solving social problems requires social solutions. Personal troubles are often tied to social issues.

Inventing Social Solutions and Social Resources

We can identify patterns of needs and invent social solutions to common problems.

1. Understanding Situations, Needs and Predicaments: We begin by understanding people's needs and situations. We then ask, what social resources would be helpful to people in similar situations?

2. Listening to Needs: through emphatic listening, explorational interviews, community circles, community workshops.

3. When healthy ways to meet human needs are blocked, people take other avenues. People need food, water, shelter, security, love, meaning, and ways to be effective.

4. Synthesizing. Ideas are often wrong but the rationale behind why it's said is usually legitimate. We must recognize the grain of truth.

5. Inventing social resources to address common problems makes good sense. Imagine if you had to build your own road anytime you wanted to go somewhere.

6. In an information/service economy, putting people and ideas together effectively is the source of wealth.

7. Utilizing significant research findings, meaningful theoretical insights and the best of model programs to design social programs, community resources, solutions to social problems, organizational cultures and better environments.

8. Social Inventions: creating an incubator to create and develop model programs to solve social, community and organizational problems

9. Training People as Social Inventors, Leadership Training

10. Evaluation standard: It's win-win or back to the drawing board.

Creating win-win situations

between people
between the organization and the individual
between community and the person

Social Problems including: crime, terrorism, gangs, drugs, poverty, safety, jobs, diversity, violence, school shootings, battered women, children abuse, teen pregnancy, factory farming, homelessness, problems for seniors, mental health, community health

Organizational problems including: motivation, morale, quality of work, absenteeism, retention & turnover, labor conflicts, employee theft, organizational communication

Prevention & Creating the Good Society: healthy relationships, effective organizations, Democracy, common sense taxes, rural development, peacemaking, community building, men & women together, conflict resolution, positive youth development

Possibilities including: youth center, prevention programs, community center, businesses, community development, nursing homes, juvenile group homes, college campuses, schools, health care facilities, human service agencies, parks & recreation