Anthony Costello

The science of sympathy groups for health, wealth and a sustainable future 

WORKING TOGETHER IN SYMPATHY GROUPS has been the secret of success in all areas of human endeavour – from agriculture and child-care, trade and warfare, science and theatre, music and sport. The ‘sympathy group’ is the smallest social group outside the family – the 15 or so people who share a common interest and solve challenges through facilitated conversation. They put their own strategies into practice and assess their own benefits.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For twenty years Professor Anthony Costello led large studies of women groups in Asia and Africa. To his surprise they dramatically cut maternal and newborn deaths on a large scale even where health services were rudimentary. The women, by themselves, built trust and helped to solve their most difficult and ‘wicked’ problems. He believes this ancestral method for success can help solve our 21st century challenges. This wide-ranging and amusing book draws upon anthropology, history, science, economics and epidemiology. Professor Costello describes heart-warming studies of women’s groups by local teams in the mountains of Nepal, the forests of India and the villages of Malawi and Bangladesh. From these experiments to build social trust, he analyses why and how successful organisations keep promises and build social capital.  He spans the history of sympathy groups from hunter-gatherer to post-modern society. And he offers solutions for contemporary challenges.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The book describes twenty two experiments that governments and scientists should explore for sympathy group answers to complex modern problems. How can we solve pandemics of loneliness, obesity and stress? Can we rehabilitate offenders and tackle adolescent violence? What role for sympathy groups in service quality, business performance, corruption and big finance? And can groups offer solutions to gridlocked government and climate change? Bold, irreverent, and optimistic, The Social Edge describes how decision-makers and policymakers can rebuild ‘relational’ states. And a social ecology for the huge challenge of a sustainable future.