Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community? (1967). Detailed description

This book was the last to be published during King’s lifetime. In it, King summarized the accomplishments of the Civil Rights movement but was more interested in addressing his growing concerns regarding key developments of the late 1960s. King addressed the self-defensive, sometimes revolutionary use of violence advocated by “Black Power,” the social dichotomy of rich and poor living within the United States, and the growing similarities between capitalism and Soviet-style communism, and offered his vision of the day when we could all live in “the world house.”

Just as in many of his other writings, King used his book to respond to the context of his immediate surroundings. He was fully aware of the difficult times in which he lived. Yet he sought to harmonize differences between him and other leaders and organizations. For example, King felt that the objectives of the nonviolent civil rights organizations and those adhering to the tenets of black nationalism were not in opposition to each other. They, instead, differed on means.

The challenge, though, was resolving the tension between the rich and poor living in the United States. For King, the status of African Americans was an extreme example of the problems brought on by unfettered capitalism. He referred to the wealthy white suburbs surrounding inner cities of poverty and blight as metaphors for global conditions. The United States and Western Europe were surrounded by increasingly impoverished nations whose populations were unwilling to watch as the West grew more affluent.

King argued that communism was flawed because it justified using any means available to achieve its utopian end of class equality. King criticized this because for him the ends could not be used to justify the means. Yet, capitalism did the same. He found that in the pursuit of maximizing profits capitalism was willing to justify any means available to it—at the time, even war. On this basis and for other reasons King opposed the war in Vietnam. He instead advocated what he called the “world house.” In the post-cold war 21st century King’s description of the world house looks remarkably like the “global community” of today.

Unfortunately, many of King’s warnings were not heeded. The responses to this book were disappointing to King. Many ignored it as a vestige of days gone by from a leader who had failed to keep up with the times. Others saw it as wishful thinking. Even today, views of this book are limited to those who can find a copy in the used book sections of dealers—Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community ? is out of print. Yet it speaks to a number of challenges faced by those living in the early 21st century. Racially disparate outcomes in education, discriminatory housing patterns in urban areas, poor health care, and ballooning imprisonment rates are all addressed through King’s prism. His use of history and the place of African Americans in it, his experiences dealing with presidential politics, and the values of his Christian ministry were all used to assess where the United States was headed and the consequences of present actions.

For Discussion or Writing
1. What does King mean by “Beloved Community”? How does this contrast with his description of the Black Power movement?

2. What does poverty mean to King? What do you think when he compares it to the violence of racism?

3. What criticisms would King have today about the following aspects of US foreign policy— the war in Iraq, the war against terrorism, the United States immigration policies toward Latin America, U.S. prisons?

4. While often contrasted, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcolm X also converged on a number of issues. Looking for connections between King’s Where Do We Go from Here and Malcolm X’s “The Ballot or the Bullet.” From your knowledge of these two thinkers or from researching an encyclopedia or reliable Web site, evaluate in what ways and areas the two converged during the last two years both were alive. As you make your assessment, think about whether their stances enabled them to bridge their disagreements.