How can collective action create change?

Three months into the pandemic, my friend Giulia found out she was pregnant. For her, those first months were ‘unprecedented’ in more ways than one. She measured time by lockdown restrictions and trimesters; we met up for brisk walks down Mill Road as her belly grew. She wondered if her partner would be able to be present for the birth of their first child. In early February 2021, in the midst of another lockdown, Stella was born. Giulia’s partner was beside her in the delivery room and they brought their baby home together. 

Clearly, that was just the beginning of a journey that was less than straight forward. With no family living nearby and the virus continuing to spread, the start to family life was joyful yes, but also solitary. And Giulia’s story is one that will feel familiar to other women who experienced motherhood through the pandemic. Reflecting on that time, Giulia tells me, ‘I’m still not over the fact that my mom didn’t meet Stella until she was 3 months.’ 

But I think Giulia’s story illustrates something about our wider society. It’s been said before that Covid 19 magnified everything. Without the distractions of normal life - commuting, working, socialising - we could appreciate the small things. I realised how many birds and squirrels were bouncing around my garden every day. But it also revealed things that were missing in our lives, such as local community connections. As psychotherapist Ester Perel writes: ‘Today, we turn to one person to provide what an entire village once did: a sense of grounding, meaning, and continuity.’

Rebuilding the village

If we want to become part of a meaningful community, where do we start? What tools do we have? Forget star signs - when thinking about the role of community in today’s society, political and social scientist Robert Putnam talks about two groups of people that each build social capital: machers and schmoozers. A ‘macher’ is a Yiddish term for someone who makes things happen in the community. These people are the civic-minded - those who follow current events, organise meetings or protests, donate blood. You won’t find a macher sitting around waiting for someone else to make change. They’re right there in the middle of it. Sound like you? Perhaps you were born under a macher star. 

‘For Giulia, those first months were ‘unprecedented’ in more ways than one. She measured time by lockdown restrictions and trimesters; we met up for brisk walks down Mill Road as her belly grew.’

Meanwhile, the schmoozer is less structured in their social activity - they spend many hours socialising and communicating, attending or hosting social events, and visiting with friends or relatives. They’re the people in your friendship groups who host barbecues, give dinner parties and still send greetings cards. If people describe you as charismatic, friendly, and spontaneous, there’s a chance you’re one of life’s schmoozers.  

For a well-functioning society, we need both! But, says Putnam, we’re seeing a decline in machers and schmoozers. So what are the benefits of community that we’re potentially missing out on? What’s at stake? Research shows us that communities with high levels of civic engagement tend to have more success when dealing with community problems such as poverty, unemployment, education, crime, and health.

The solution is pretty clear. We need to step into our macher and schmoozer power. We have to roll up our sleeves and put in the effort to build community connection. It doesn’t happen overnight and it doesn’t happen by accident. 

This is at the centre of everything we’re doing at Together Culture. We know that collectively we are so much more than the sum of our parts, so we’re busy gathering our first 500 Founding Members. We’re looking for people who care about their hometown, and who want to contribute to a more vibrant Cambridge. Together, we can create a powerful community of machers, schmoozers, and everything in between - so that whatever happens, we have a whole village to turn to for support, and to support in return. In the longer term, our community will be turning ideas into action through our incubator programme, resulting in community-owned social enterprises. This is how we create change. 

You can become a Founding Member here. Let’s build Together Culture!