From Corporate Greed to Common Good: Canadian Churches and Community Economic Development

Ashley Thomson is a full librarian at Laurentian University and co-editor or co-author of nine books, most recently Margaret Atwood: A Reference Guide, 1988-2005.

The focus of this book is community economic development (CED), also
known as local economic self-help. Many of the chapters report success
stories. An example of CED in this country is the Edmonton Recycling
Society, a worker-run company that contributes some of its profits to
the city.

In an era of globalization in which individual communities often bear
the impact of decisions made many miles away, CED is an attractive
alternative (or, as Cynthia Patterson puts it in her afterword, “the
only alternative”). This book makes it clear that the local leadership
driving CED often comes from members of the clergy who believe that the
gospel’s call for charity to one’s neighbors means giving a hand up,
not a handout. To be successful, these leaders need funds. As is pointed
out in more than one place in this book, the “greatest drawback [to
CED] is ... access to capital.” From Corporate Greed to Common Good
makes a strong plea to Christians to invest at least some of their money
in neighborhood economic activity.