Soul, Community and Social Change by Peter Westoby

Author:Peter Westoby [Westoby, Peter]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, Social Work, Political Science, Public Policy, Social Services & Welfare
ISBN: 9781134807123
Google: fAckDwAAQBAJ
Barnesnoble:
Goodreads: 30145274
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2015-12-09T00:00:00+00:00

Peter

Jason, this is a very helpful initial response full of both analytical insight and heartfelt pathos. And of course my response to you, in a soul tradition, is to acknowledge what you and your companions/compatriots are experiencing. You talk of rage and beneath that is the pain, the longsuffering, and the possible despair (it has been so long; so many people beaten and killed). I acknowledge it.

I would also like to reinforce your almost seamless flow between feeling and analysis, arguing that this is crucial for soulful practice, eschewing the bifurcation of heart, mind, spirit and body. Maybe insightful analysis flows from an accurate and intimate understanding of the current situation which can only be discerned when all faculties of people are engaged. Albeit care needs to be taken to engage all faculties, not allowing one to dominate. Imagine, as you have noted, if frustrated West Papuans simply acted impulsively on their rage, picking up arms. So it seems to me that what is becoming clear, even as I re-read your words and write myself, is that a soulful approach requires a deep intimacy with the difficult social spaces at hand – which in this case is not only difficult in terms of people’s experience, but in terms of historical, empirical analysis. As you put it, the historical facts are ‘not good news for West Papua’. And again I acknowledge that.

For the rest of my current contribution I want to make three points, of course leading to the asking of more questions.

First, and this relates to your practice. As my focus is on soulful community work I am interested in the ‘community’ of people in West Papua that you have chosen to ‘accompany’. And I am also interested in your mention of ‘facilitating action learning processes’ in that accompanying role. These would appear to signify three crucial elements of your practice: (i) an understanding of ‘community’ (Who are you working with?); (ii) clarity about your role, which is ‘accompanying’; and (iii) skill with a ‘methodology’ (action learning). Have I understood the heart of your social practice?

Second, at some point above you argued that, ‘we need to hold a long view about strategy while at the same time responding to more immediate realities’. I sense this sentence is crucial. For me it raises some fundamental thoughts about how we think or philosophise our way into social change work. It seems to me that an orthodox way of thinking about strategy is to develop a ‘theory of social change’ based on an ideal type (for example, nonviolence), and then see if the practice matches the ideal, or develop a practice (in this case, strategy) that matches that ideal. It would seem that the empirical analysis provided by your colleagues Chenoweth and Stephen has given you evidence for a theory of nonviolence, albeit as you say it is bleak evidence in relation to succession attempts. However, another way to approach the situation might be to not so much articulate a theory and then

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