I notice that with the recession, talk of philanthropy and charity has come to the fore at least in this part of the world (New Zealand). I was supported to go to university and my university education and income has enabled me to be more supportive of others, so I feel I should be sympathetic to this kind of giving, but I’m not.

As this new century unfolds, it seems that people are not as enthusiastic about calling on community to address current problems as they once were; instead they are coming to call on the ethical and responsible individual. It is hoped that somehow these ethical individuals will, by virtue of their numbers, ensure positive change, quite possibly by voting for similarly ethical leaders. I have some major concerns about where this very individualized trajectory is leading us.

In her community-building work, Margreet Stonks made living in the locality an explicit, reflexive, ongoing process.

Instead of just repeating simplistic “benefits of diversity” mantras, which in practice does little more than leave one lot to struggle with the other over increasing diminishing resources, why not make a space for thinking about new practical approaches, about how to creatively combine our diverse qualities to better meet our needs and enrich all of our lives and take us beyond the “I win you lose” scarcity models.

Guest Blogger Mary Jaksch writes: “We speak of ‘using time’, ‘buying time’, ’saving time’, ’spending time’, or ’squandering time’. Because of this view, we are experiencing something that social scientists have termed a time-compression effect which means that today we seem to have much less time to do the things we need or want to do. This contributes to more stress at work, sleep deprivation, burnout, and less time for family and friends or recreational activities.”

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This project is funded from a Building Research Capability in the Social Sciences Network (BRCSS) Postdoctoral Award and it is based at the Social Science Research Centre, University of Canterbury, Aotearoa New Zealand.