On Developing Our Communities

Speech delivered to Kibende Youth Group, November 26, 2020

In ordinary terms, we assume ‘community development’ to be a series of

interrelated decisions to allocate resources, with the desired effect of uplifting the
welfare of the target people. In order to do this, plans for community development
must be drawn, detailing course of action. This in itself requires some kind of
knowledge or information about the needs among the members of the community,
which is often scattered among the individual members of the same community.
This raises different problem altogether--of how best the information can be
conveyed and utilized in an efficient manner.

From the above, therefore, path of development may take two shapes:

1. A centrally planned community

development
2.Development by appealing to self-interest (spontaneous community
development)

More often than not, most community development initiatives assume shape (1).
For reasons ranging from accountability assessment to outright know-it-all
attitude, community developers design programs, which in their eyes appear noble
and whose result, according to them, is to them assured. But this is a fatal mistake,
for it assumes that the interests of a community are but the aggregates of individual
interests. It also assumes a complete knowledge of circumstances surrounding
individuals in the community and their needs and thus the developer is tempted to
assume that with detailed, perhaps even complex, plans he or she should provide
long-lasting solutions.
Another problem is that in the plans of the community developer every need is
given a rank in the order of values. Thus, the plans tend to make him or her feel
like they have different courses of action, from which to choose.

The desirability of a community developer to run programs for development must

and should ultimately be questioned. The answer arising such questioning must
help us determine the best way to develop a community: whether it is better that a
community developer come up with plans or programs or better that people be left
to do the planning for development themselves. Is it better to research or ask for
the information/knowledge about those needs, then the developer does planning
centrally, or is it better the community developer assist in supplying extra
information so that the individuals plan their development by themselves.

Note I have used knowledge and information interchangeably to signify those

points of need that occur due to the difficulty one has acquiring certain things,
which one believes can make one better off. I have broken it down to information,
because of the approach modern social enterprises take, when it comes to
community development: that of funding group projects, whether or not the target
individuals are interested in them.

I believe the most important thing that a community developer could do in terms of
public good is not seek to address or satisfy particulars needs. He or she should
rather be preoccupied with setting up conditions that can enable individuals in a
community cooperate and provide for each other mutually and favorably. This is
due to the fact that, in a community, individuals are different and at different points
in their lives. They pursue different aims, consistent with their particular lives.
This particular aims have particular origins, which may not be known to the
community developer--and may even be either undesirable or unnecessary that he
or she knows. Therefore, any attempt to aggregate them into units that perform
certain communal projects like making beads and baskets for sale is not only
unfaithful, but also against the spirit of liberty, personal responsibility, and
individuality. If the same individual were to given the capital used to set up the
beads and basket project, it is not surprising that they would choose different ways
to apply that capital? They all have different information and they would only act
in a way consistent with that information.

I have always believed that social enterprises (especially those whose participation
is out of necessity) use individuals as means to communal ends. Their result, which
may appear desirable to the eye of the developer, do not reflect individual wishes,
and actually having nothing to do with individual well-being, which is the
objective of human development.

Again, I will insist, the best way to develop a community is by creating an

environment whereby individuals pursue their self-interest. Establishing centers
of cooperation such as markets has been historically tested to be the surest way
to do this. Why so? Consider you are going to Gikomba to buy shoes. If a
voluntary exchange is to happen between you and a shoe dealer in Gikomba, it will
not happen unless both you believe that you will benefit from it. Markets, or
succinctly price system, make people coordinate and cooperate, without needing
anyone (including a community developer) to centrally direct it.

Let’s go back to Gikomba example. If there should be, at any point in time, a much
higher influx of shoes, there will be an oversupply of shoes. This will make the
prices of shoes to go down. This will transmit a certain kind of information to you
a shoe-lover to take advantage of favorable prices and buy more shoes. Having
enough shoes will enable you save resources to pay for a private tuition for your
child, or even open a grocery shop. Opening a grocery shop to supply for your
daily financial need will in turn reduce the need for you to trek looking for a job.
This in turn will give you enough time to read a book about political science or
even enroll for a degree program at a local university. These are actions that will in
the long run make you better off, economically, socially, or even politically. From
the shoe-buying spree in Gikomba to a college for a degree. Did you need a
community organizer to pay for the fee via a bursary or scholarship program?
Perhaps no. But did the community developer effort to establish a market made
you better off.

Now imagine the same scenario in a market with several actors providing goods
and services and competing with each other. This should in the end produce stable
prices by which individuals can plan their lives and allocate resources accordingly.
(Think of Gikomba. There are prices at which you expect goods to be sold. Before
you go you normally allocate resources in accordance to the ordinal order of needs,
affordability, ability to substitute one good for another, et cetera).

But now the question which we must is how markets are created. Markets are
created by one
principle--concentration of goods, services, supply-lines, e.t.c in particular
strategic location. It is beyond the task I have cut out for myself in this paper to
give opinion on strategic places and modus operandi of such a venture in Mathare,
but I should be able to give suggestions should it be deemed necessary.

I feel deep in my heart the ideas I have presented in this paper might appear far-
fetched or lunatic at best. However, I have constantly reminded myself that they
are based on a certain philosophical conviction: that human being is capable of
taking of himself should he or she be left to pursue his or her self-interest. I lament
that the way self-interest has been understood to be synonymous to selfishness or
egotism, but careful assessment should reveal nothing is further from the truth.
Selfishness is taking everything for yourself, while self-interest is acting on the
knowledge one has to better one’s lot. Absolutely, nothing wrong. I pray that the
ideas in this speech find gracious use--where needs rethinking be rethought, where
needs action be followed suite. Peace and grace to you.