Back to the "why" of social innovation

Why social innovation?

I am driven to it by two core beliefs, one normative, one positive:

1. That each person in a society, by mere virtue of their presence as a human being among fellow human beings, deserves full access to the array of opportunities to pursue the good life that society offers the most fortunate.  Anything less denies the individual the full measure of dignity that is their birthright.  
2. That many of the mechanisms that have historically served to equitably provide that access to opportunity are deeply broken and/or facing deeply rooted institutional threats.  

For me, the first belief is evidenced by a chorus of witnesses: from scripture and accompanying Christian theological tradition to the lived faith of advocates for justice like Martin Luther King, Jr., and my friends from the Rutba house in Durham, NC. I find it increasingly important to return to these wells of inspiration to drive me forward when the way forward is unknown and to bend the progress of my little farm idea closer to moral arc of the universe, which, as King reminds us, "is long, but bends toward justice."

For me, the second belief is evidenced by the increasing gap between rich and poor.  This is a complex issue not easily reduced to a paragraph in a blog post, but a few thoughts:

• Public Education:  As education becomes paramount to earning a living income, the vast inequity in the quality of public education becomes more of a barrier to kids who happen to live in neighborhoods with bad schools.  An article looking at education and inequality here.
• Technology: Technology is increasingly amplifying the productivity of educated "knowledge" workers.  Not many technological innovations are dramatically increasing the productivity of a fast food worker or janitor.  Thus, their wages stagnate while programmers' wages rise.  An article looking at technology and urban inequality here.
• Politics: The political reality of national debt and austerity make a serious debate on opportunity and social justice unlikely.  Government funding for all sorts of economic development in cities is falling. 
• Unions: In the face of globalization, labor's negotiating position has weakened.  Private sector unions are weaker than ever in terms of membership.  Most private unions position themselves  increasing competitiveness.

In the fifties and sixties, I hope I would have had the courage to march for civil rights and also join King's poor people's campaign (in which he advocated for a national minimum income.)  But today's mechanisms of injustice are more complicated than "whites only" signs and blatant red-lining by banks.  Globalization has complicated the economics of a national social safety net, not only its political rationale and implementation.  

A friend recently encouraged me to get more involved in local politics.  "Make your voice heard," he said.  As someone who is committed to doing justice, I must confess that I do not believe that our democracy is the most powerful amplifier of my voice.  Given my particular set of assets, access to capital, etc., I think that riding the wave of the market and broadening the concept of value creation is the best way to amplify not only my voice but my vision for justice; for beloved community in Pittsburgh. 

Can a small urban farm actually achieve this?  Maybe.  Farming is hard work.  It requires labor and lots of it.  If aquaponic production and energy efficiency innovations can take urban farming to scale and compete in the wholesale, this would be a technology innovation that not only amplifies the productivity of low-skilled labor, it would break into an inner-city labor market that is in dire need of job opportunities.  Could the presence of an urban farm that feeds and employes its urban neighbors even as it ships out high-quality lettuce to suburban grocery stores help re-draw the cultural map that divides city and suburb, black and white, rich and poor?  Can it bridge a social gap?

I'm finding that normative framework for this venture is as important as its positive social, economic and political assumptions.  The "why" is as important as the "how" in guiding decisions and sustaining the hard work. 

Thanks, finally, to Prof Zak and the class for a great semester.