Third, it offers ‘the possibility of talking back to power rather than simplydelivering depoliticized and demeaning versions of empowerment’ (Shaw,2007, p. 34). As highlighted earlier, neo-liberalism has fundamentally reshaped the nature of much of what is regarded as constituting legitimate community development activity. As a result, the political nature of community development has been significantly eroded. Community organizing offers the possibility and potential for this to be reclaimed, but if this is to happen, local communities and their organizations will need to think more deeply and more politically about the collective nature of their work in building the power of people to become active participants in public life, rather than simply passive recipients of services, welfare or charity.