John Deere and the Bereavement Counselor

The collection of lectures and publications from the Schumacher Center for a New Economics represents some of the foremost voices on a new economics.

Just as the sod-busting steel plow was destructive of the healthy agricultural development of Wisconsin, modern service technologies such as bereavement counseling can be destructive of the natural caring web of community. According to John McKnight, costly service technologies are often counterproductive, resulting in a community's loss of traditional wisdom and social commitment. He recommends the recultivation of social forms that do not replace consent with control, replace diverse cultural behavior with service monopolies, or turn citizens into mere clients and consumers.