Arguments for Self-Help and Mutual Aid

Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is to draw together the key conceptual and theoretical ideas that underpin arguments in support of community self-help both as a strategy for survival and a model for society. We have organised these around the following key assertions:

Community self-help is the basis upon which communities survive, thrive and evolve; The moral foundations of society are built upon reciprocity; The dependency culture is corrosive of society: and The state as a welfare provider is in crisis