A E Fister’s Recent Comments

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  Get Local

  This topic is often discussed in broad strokes with regard to what we as a culture on this continent or in this hemisphere need, or will have to do. For many of us it's mostly common sense, but I think an important, if not essential step toward an adaption that will reduce the damage our civilization creates should focus more on reducing the distance our money travels. This is not a new idea of course. E.F. Schumacher brought his economic principles to the U.S. and Europe back in the 1970s with the publication of "Small Is Beautiful" (Economics as if people mattered). Even before Schumacher was the Austrian economist Leopold Kohr, who broke ground with the principles of "human scale" and breaking up large nations into smaller entities back in the 1940s and 50s.

  We can easily point our fingers at massive industries and demand they make the changes we want so we can continue our lives of comfort and convenience, but I also believe unless we shift our thinking away from the "bigger is better" syndrome, we fail to see the tree in the forest. We can forcast all we want about the future, but the truly effecient and practical change will only occur by weeding our own garden. In other words the most powerful changes are the ones we make personally and inside our immediate communities and environment.

  I currently think it is irrational and naive to believe we can sustain the modern American lifestyle with the usual optimistic faith in technological innovation. I am optimistic, but my optimism is that we can change our minds before a catastrophic breakdown enforces it. It would certainly be less painful if we orchestrated our own social deconstruction, as opposed to picking up the pieces for a reconstruction.    

   

  A E Fister

  On Steffen makes good points posted 2 years, 8 months ago 10 Responses