Theoretical Aspects of Local Economic Development
Economic Development at the community level is where the rubber hits the road for many workers in Economic Development. Wiewel, Teitz and Giloth ( ), writing in that context claim there really is no theory at the community level to give activity coherence. They suggest that to do so, such a theory would have to address 5 issues:
- Levels of local economic activity and any links to the outside economy.
- Details of sociopolitical reality unique to that community.
- Prescriptions for practical action needed.
- Detailed statement of end point or objective of the process.
- Acurate description of the context of action.
They add that practice needs:
- growth based gains rather than transfer payments
- Community development principles
- Political power used for productivity growth purposes only ( )
Perhaps such a theory should also:
- Address the central issue facing man, which was rasied earlier;
- Come to grips with a fundamental aspects of the nature of man ;
- Give perspective on the nature of the divisions that plague humanity;
- State the liberating good news that God did not intend to have a community on earth, did not create one, nor is that his ultimate "end point", but rather a "dance partner" - a "body" - a unity with Christ "the head", and to pretend otherwise is to submit oneself to a continual re-enactment of the myth of Sisyphus as a Community Development practitioner.
Theoretical Topics in Local Economic Development
- Metaphors in Local Economic Development
- Systems For Grouping Approaches To Local Economic Development
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