Reluctance to join in community action

Many small communities are reluctant to work together for the betterment of the entire population. This may be due to several reasons: there is often a sense that the issues are too complex to be solved; individuals may be reluctant to relinquish their personal power; sometimes there is a belief that those who were capable of dealing with the problems have already left the community for more fulfilling avenues, and that those who remain have neither the imagination nor the energy demanded for community action; past development efforts may have been left unfinished, reinforcing the sense that little can change. Suggestions for development tend to meet with a negative response - reasons why such a thing could not work, or why the community is not in a position to approach public or private sources for assistance. There is therefore a need to try new alternatives in total community development able to meet perceived needs and to mobilize the community's latent human resources.