Civic Culture at the Grass Roots

In unequal societies, the rich may benefit from shaping economic institutions in their favor. This paper analyzes the dynamics of institutional subversion by focusing on public protection of property rights. If this institution functions imperfectly, agents have incentives to invest in private protection of property rights. The ability to maintain private protection systems makes the rich natural opponents of public protection of property rights and precludes grass-roots demand to drive the development of the market-friendly institution. The economy becomes stuck in a bad equilibrium with low growth rates, high inequality of income, and wide-spread rent-seeking. The Russian oligarchs of the 1990s, who controlled large stakes of newly privatized property, provide motivation for this paper.

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The Personal is the Political

International Review of Qualitative Research ◽

10.1525/irqr.2010.3.1.125 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

pp. 125-148

Author(s):

Mercilee M. Jenkins

Keyword(s):

San Francisco ◽

Women's Movement ◽

Community Member ◽

The Political ◽

Oral Histories ◽

Grass Roots ◽

Feminist Organization ◽

Second Wave

This paper explores the transformation of oral histories into a play about the founding of San Francisco Women's Building based on extensive interviews. My impetus for writing She Rises Like a Building to the Sky was to portray the kind of grass roots feminist organization primarily composed of lesbians that made up a large part of the second wave of the Women's Movement in the 1970's and early 1980's. The evolution of She Rises is discussed from three positionalities I occupied over an extensive period of time: oral historian, playwright and eventual community member. Excerpts from She Rises are used to illustrate the lessons I learned in the process of creating this work. I will discuss my self-collaboration in terms of the oral historian's concern for fidelity, the playwright's desire to bring such material to life whether by fact or fiction, and the community member's fears of how others will view this rendition of their stories. The behind the scenes dramas reveal as much as the play itself about the challenges and rewards of undertaking such projects.

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The Grass Roots Speak

FORUM ◽

10.15730/forum.2017.59.2.237 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 59 (2) ◽

pp. 237

Author(s):

JOHN COE

Keyword(s):

Grass Roots

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