de Tocqueville revisited
My article ("de Tocqueville's America: Revisited") in the September issue of Associations Now is hitting the streets and is online. For the inspiration behind the article, read the short article on page 4 (print version only - sorry). And while you're there, find out about the fight club above one of our design and production staff's apartment.
I'm blogging because I'm interested to hear what questions (and answers) Acronym readers would ask de Tocqueville if they had been with me in the interview. Or how they think de Tocqueville would have answered my questions. And while you're on the site with this article or any other, be sure to take a moment and rate it and post a quick review.
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Comments
Scott, thanks for the thought-provoking article and for the posting. I am struck by the similarity of some of de Tocueville's posthumous comments and some of the findings from "Decision to Join". DTJ notes in a key finding that "understanding of an association involves a balancing act between a calculation of what's in it for me and what's in it for the discipline and public".
Said differently an association purpose organized for individual member's personal benefits (what's in it for me) and an association focused on benefits "for the good of the order" (the profession, field and public served) may be very different in many ways, particularly in their value propositions and relevancy over (changing) time. Associations trying to serve both purposes may find there is major tension between the two competing purposes.
I think I would have asked Mr. de Tocqueville for his impressions of each of these purposes for associating and the extent to which he may think one or both purposes will be relevant in the next 100 years, given our changes in information access, technology and demographic preferences around the world. Perhaps he might even envision a new, more relevant purpose for associating?
Posted by: Virgil Carter | September 6, 2007 2:29 PM
Folks who are interested in this discussion should definitely check out a letter to M. de Tocqueville at the opensource.association blog.
Posted by: Lisa Junker | September 7, 2007 7:56 AM