Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs

A Foundation for Sustainable Rural Community Development

Maximum Feasible Participation

• CLC home page
• Introduction
• Report

Summary

• Purpose
• Commissioners
• Survey & Hearings
• Prominent Deficiencies
• Underlying Problem
• Migration
• Agriculture Challenges
• Public Health
• Role of Farm Women
• Conservation & Land Use
• General Corrective Forces
• Commission Recommendations
• Legislative Recommendations
• Remedies
• The Call for Leadership

Legacy

• American Country Life Association
• Rural Sociology
• American Farm Bureau Federation
• Highways
• Agricultural Economics

Resources

• Bibliography
• Web Resources
• Timeline

“Maximum feasible participation” was a little noticed concept in President Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty Program. In essence, it was intended to empower residents of impoverished communities to take charge of their destinies. For local leaders seeking to retain their power in the confrontational 1960s, it turned into a formidable challenge as citizens realized that they could challenge inequalities. For some, maximum feasible participation implied democracy that was far too noisy and combative as Community Action Agencies organized the poor to demand their rights. Ultimately, the Federal government watered down provisions for widespread participation in response to pressure from municipal officials and congressional representatives. The concept remains a core tenet of community development efforts today.

Recommended Resources

• Lehman, Nicholas. 1991. The Promised Land: The Great Black Migration and How It Changed America. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
• Rubin, Lillian B. 1969. Maximum Feasible Participation: The Origins, Implications, and Present Status. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 385, No. 1, 14-29.