Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
I had an amazing fourth of July, a truly outstanding American experience. I feel fortunate to live where I do, in a place where I can retreat from the broader cares of the world and have a happy day. And here’s a dirty little secret: I didn’t burn an ounce of oil while doing it. You could call it a steady state celebration.
The affirmation of the domestic sphere, of the informal economy and of women’s work is itself a radical act in a culture that assumes that one should purchase all goods and services once provided by the informal economy. Any of you who have read _Depletion and Abundance_ will know that I consider the dismantling of the informal economy (which is the larger portion of the world economy, represent 3/4 of total economic activity) in the developed world and the undermining of the Global South’s informal economy to be a disaster in the making, as we run out of the fuel (and the ability to safely burn it, if such a thing can ever be said to have existed) that permitted this.
Within the flourishing enterprise model of strategic change there are three key areas of value-creation; market changes, innovation and capabilities for flourishing. All three are critical and no company can flourish without real effort in each domain, and none can be done by a company on their own. A great deal of innovation is required within companies, much of which needs to be open and collaborative. Aristotle said that no individual could flourish without being an active participant in the flourishing of society and community, no company can succeed without being an active participant in societal and market changes.
I’m frequently being asked for tips on how to get a new local group started. As I sat down this week to write it out yet again, it seemed like the kind of info that might be of interest to other groups (both Transition and not-yet-Transition groups). So, I decided to post it here. If you’re contemplating beginning a Transition group in your local neighborhood …
Lake Village in Pavilion Township (near Kalamazoo, Michigan) began as an experiment in “getting back to the Earth.” Now in its 40th year, it sees no end in sight.
As my mess of a question/journey/statement tumbled out, and this realisation took form, I found myself ending with a quote from Paul Wellstone, “If we don’t fight hard enough for the things we stand for, at some point we have to recognise that we don’t really stand for them.”
Randy White, Founder of Bright Neighbor and Co-Author of the Portland Peak Oil Task Force Report ““Descending the Oil Peak: Navigating the Transition from Oil and Natural Gas”, presents “The Sharing Economy: A Plan B For Moving America Forward” at TEDxSoMa in San Francisco. The presentation outlines community response plans in case of economic collapse.
We are living in an important historical moment. The last time we saw an economic collapse on this scale it took the dislocation and suffering of the 1930s and the Second World War to put the uncontrolled market back into its box and the tensions in the Eurozone are indications of the sorts of passions that result from economic failure provoked by selfishness and greed.
When looking through the lens of collaborative consumption or the mesh, it’s easy to see how many of our needs can be met through sharing with others to some lesser or greater degree. Surveying this communally inclined world, we find that our homes, cars, jobs, time, and more can easily be shared. Land is another asset that can and should be shared, one that is in high demand as rising food prices and the desire for healthy food blooms alongside the “Grow Your Own” movement’s current momentum.
I don’t think we’re really going to understand this friction between, and the potential energy arising from, transition and “activism/action” unless the latter term gets further granularity. “Transition justice” is a new term and probably means different things to everyone. How this gets woven explicitly into the framing of Transition is a question we’ve not answered yet. But at least we’re asking that question.
As the economic crisis stretches on, religious congregations are playing a vital role in helping people cope. For many, Resilience Circles (also called Common Security Clubs) are a way to help members confront and address their economic insecurities.
Recently, a group of Resilience Circle leaders has been discussing the idea of a “theology for community resilience.” How do the resources of our faith traditions support and empower our communities during this time of economic and ecological challenge?
Here’s a thought. One way into several of the policy issues dominating British news headlines — from the future of the national health service, to the Southern Cross catastrophe, to the funding of higher education — is to look at them through the lens of Jane Jacobs’ distinction, in her book Systems of Survival, between systems based on territory (“guardians”) and systems based on exchange (“traders”). Most human societies need both. But when we get the distinctions between them blurred, breakdown and corruption follows.
