The Kirseberg Project incorporates a number of practices to mobilze both resource persons and local residents through the organizational network already available to reduce alcohol consumption. Another aspect of the project involves the participation of Kirseberg residents in producing information about alcohol to counter publications dominated by commercial alcohol-producing interests. The authors believe that community action projects can generate knowledge about general community intervention programs in the health and social arenas and can lead to debate about political ideals and realities in democratic societies. The following ethical-democratic issues are relevant to community action research projects: professional versus amateur; expert knowledge versus general public opinion; center versus peripheral power; hierarchy power structure versus bottom-to-top power structure; population as object versus subject; uniform versus reciprocal communication; and representative versus participant model. Various approaches to intervention at the societal level focus on individual versus collective efforts and treatment versus prevention. Discussion regarding human, democratic, and professional components of community action projects should incorporate these issues and approaches. 1 reference