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BottomUpIdea 3 - 03 Mar 2009 - Main.MolissaFarber
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| | What if the federal government were to award some amount of money (say $10 or $25 million) annually to the best social programs proposed through a public wiki website? With money clearly dedicated, a well-designed website, and thought-out rules and criteria for evaluation, I think the wiki would attract lots of attention and effort.
One of Obama’s change messages is that solutions have to come from the bottom up. He wants the general public to be more involved in government and points to the internet as a means. The wiki format would be a good way to deliver. With billions doled out to corporations and public works stimulus, this could provide politically powerful balance and unique impact. | | | Hi, Greg. I think this is a fascinating idea, and a particularly powerful form of bottom-up construction that would incorporate and enable voices traditionally left out of conversations about social change. I think, though, that it would be important to also consider the wiki format's limitations. While almost everyone has access to a computer these days and knows how to perform basic functions on the Internet, there are still people in communities who would not be able to take advantage of this technology. Whether it's because some people can't read or do not have the time after work to read or contribute to online conversations, the wiki approach may not be as truly bottom-up as many of us would like. At "worst" but certainly still valuable, it would be a middle-up approach (if that makes any sense).
-- JosephLu - 02 Mar 2009 | |
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I love the idea of balancing the corporate bail-out with a "bottom-up" social problem bail-out. While Joseph raises valid points about the limitation of the wiki format, particularly the problem of a skewed respondent population, I think it's especially valuable to start thinking about a way to rectify the massive sense of injustice felt by most of the U.S. population at the execution of the bailout.
On the other hand, perhaps it's counter-productive to think of things in those terms. Even a $700 billion community programs bailout would not rectify the injustices and imbalances that created the problems. Talking about a "good" bailout in this way makes me think of the conversations we've had trying to justify working at a big firm and what not. It begins to feel like a rationalization; throwing money at something in order to make ourselves feel less bad about whatever role our culture, class, or chosen profession played in the economic destruction we are now facing.
-- MolissaFarber - 03 Mar 2009
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