the Amish vs Mad Max

[Neal Oldham]

This is a superb & incredibly timely article:

"The future is Amish, not Mad Max"
http://www.energybulletin.net/node/48000

I think the author states very eloquently the Transition Town /
Voluntary Simplicity point of view.

[Steven Tyree]

I concur. 

 

I'll reiterate that there's a lot to be hopeful about.

 

Notice that Laurent Courau has taken many positive, practical steps in his own life that help prepare and insulate himself and his family from the predicted turmoil.  I believe this is where much of his calm demeanor comes from.

 

K and I have been following the strategy of doing things that will help us a lot if we're right, but won't hurt us much if we're wrong.  There's so much to do that it's easy to find targets of opportunity with this metric.  For example, we planted a dozen blueberry bushes this past winter.  We love blueberries, they grow great here with little care, and they're one of the healthiest foods you can put in your mouth.  Oh yeah, they freeze great, too.  That's win win win win, no matter how things pan out.

 

cheers

 

Steve

[Neal Oldham]

You know, while I think this is an excellent exposition of the Voluntary Simplicity point of view, there's a lot of idealism in the article, and there's a lot of it seems very similar to communal movements that didn't work in the past. 

Being able to be happy with few material possessions.

Humanity doesn't have a very good track record of this.  I think it has to do with the need to attract a mate.  Pretty potent stuff.

 

Self-reliance and do-it-yourself skills.

...

Relationships rather than The Market.

That's fairly redundant; in a DIY world, there won't be enough specialization to enable large-scale commerce.

 

Prudence and thrift.

Honesty, hard work and sobriety.

Some belief system, whether it be religious or political.

What if that belief system happens to Calvinism?  It's very acquisitive and not compatible with this more ascetic lifestyle.  It's also one of the most influential precursors of Protestantism.  Which still includes the majority of the English-speaking population world.

Energy decline is inevitable. 

Big energy is not the way out. 

Reduce consumption and population.

Such a terribly sinister and violent proposition, buried innocuously in the middle of the article.

 

Start from where you are.

Produce locally.

What if where you are is on the verge of catastrophic climate change?  If where you are is fixing to be under the sea or become a desert, staying put isn't such a great idea is it?  I think this is where a lot of these movements could fail:  They try to return to a sessile, agrarian way of life.  In the event of massive global shift, I think a nomadic lifestyle makes way more sense.  And that doesn't even necessarily mean we all turn into heavily armed marauders laying waste to the countryside.  It could be something as benign as the pastoralism.  Though the "heavily armed" part may be a minimum requirement.  Weather patterns will be in flux and we'll need to be ready to haul ass.

Mac made a good point bringing up The Road for comparison.  (Though it's one of my least favorite McCarthy books and the scenario he describes, where apparently there's no photosynthesis, isn't one where I could see any animal life surviving.)

 

Relish the power of symbolic seeds.

Honor public service.

Anyone is welcome. (non-sectarian, not promoting any political party)

Hope and reason. (no rants, not fear-based).

Sadly I find hope and reason most often at cross-purposes.  Humans have a much larger capability for the first than the latter.