Community Economic Development and the Paradox of Power

Irish Review of Community Economic Development Law and Policy, Vol. 1, No. 4, pp. 1-21, 2012

Georgetown Public Law Research Paper No. 12-192

Georgetown Law and Economics Research Paper No. 12-043

22 Pages Posted: 21 Dec 2012

See all articles by Michael Diamond

Michael Diamond

Georgetown University Law Center

Date Written: 2012

Abstract

This article starts from the premise that poverty is a growing problem in the United States. Intergenerational poverty, the entrenchment of a class of very poor people, is a major sub set of that problem and is tied very closely to the issue of race. The author claims that missing in the fight by the poor and their allies against stratified poverty is the creation and utilization of power. This paper examines the disparate ways in which commentators have defined power. It suggests that those seeking to obtain power must understand the concept’s varying meanings and direct their activities to meet their own understanding of the concept. Community Economic Development (CED) may be nothing more than a re-affirmation of existing power relationships or it may be the cause and the result of a change in those relationships. This paper attempts to make sense of this apparent paradox.

Keywords: CED, theories of power, poverty, race

JEL Classification: K00, K10, K19

Suggested Citation

Diamond, Michael R., Community Economic Development and the Paradox of Power (2012). Irish Review of Community Economic Development Law and Policy, Vol. 1, No. 4, pp. 1-21, 2012, Georgetown Public Law Research Paper No. 12-192, Georgetown Law and Economics Research Paper No. 12-043, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2192137

Michael R. Diamond (Contact Author)

Georgetown University Law Center ( email )

600 New Jersey Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20001
United States

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
80
Abstract Views
817
Rank
551,501
PlumX Metrics