We live in a very complex world of high technology,
multinational corporations, high finance, big government, high
pressure manipulative advertising, mass media, and social
isolation. We are enmeshed in a vast web of institutions and
structures over which no one appears to have control but which
controls almost every aspect of our lives.
Many social thinkers of the 20th century have
diagnosed the sickness inherent in this system and have proposed
radical medicine. The teachings of these thinkers get a lot of
exposure in journals such as this. Little self-sufficient
communities sprout up here and there. But the leviathan just
seems to be getting bigger and bigger.
The vast majority of people who are attracted to the radical
alternatives find themselves paralyzed when trying to put the
program into effect. The demands of raising a family or
developing a career prevent a person from taking the plunge into
the world of alternative economic models. Part of the problem is
isolation. An alternative economy cannot be embraced except in
the context of a well-developed and comprehensive community. Many
of us do not know where to turn to find such a community or do
not possess the leadership gifts to create one ourselves. Another
problem may be the wide gap between the ideal and the real. We
may read bout the proposals of Peter Maurin and E.F. Schumacher
and not know what steps we can take to bring about the changes
they propose. The demands can seem too steep, too dangerous for a
family with children.
What we need to see is that a slow, gradual transition is
perfectly acceptable. We can begin right now to take small steps
toward economic and cultural transformation.
It may be impossible (and undesirable) for us to withdraw
completely from society and commerce. It is possible, however,
for us to reduce the controlling influence of a world economy on
our lives and at the same time to promote smaller, more
human-scale structures which, as more people choose the
alternative, could gradually replace the corporate monster.
The key principle is that the more an action shows respect for
individuals as persons, the more just it is. This requires a
scaling down. We have to create an economy based on the integrity
of individuals and the organic interaction of human communities.
It also requires an emphasis on human participation in
productivity and an organic connection between a person and the
fruits of his labor.
All well and good, but how do we do that in practice? Here
are several principles I have adopted.
- Buy locally instead of nationally or internationally, not for
the sake of “protectionism” but to reduce dependence
on the vast transportation and communications infrastructure that
drains our energy resources.
- Buy directly from the producer instead of the distributor.
Much of our economy exists to support the middleman at the
expense of the consumer and the producer, and to supply costly
advertising and packaging.
- Buy natural materials instead of artificial ones, handmade
instead of machine-made. Artificial substances almost always rely
on a high-technology solution and almost always result in a
substantial stress to the ecology. Working and living with
natural materials promotes a sense of symbiotic relationship with
creation and reduces alienation. Hand work also reduces
dependency on high technology and consumption of environmentally
malignant energy sources.
- Buy from small businesses instead of large. The larger the
business, in general, the more alienated are the workers, the
management, the owners and the consumer. Direct contact between
the producer and the consumer is always preferable. Otherwise, we
must rely on advertising, packaging, and other manipulative and
wasteful practices. A small business is more likely to see an
identity between owner, manager and producer.
- Buy raw materials instead of processed or prefabricated
materials. Doing something yourself is always preferable to
having someone else do it. Especially when that someone else is a
corporation in which ownership is divorced from production and
capital is separate from labor. Working with your hands is a
sharing and participation in the creative activity of God in the
world.
These solutions often have a higher price tag and sometimes
require more personal effort: the little, local hardware store
may be more expensive than the huge one by the mall; food at a
co-op is more expensive than at a supermarket; homemade food
takes more time than pre-processed food. The rewards, however,
are great: a sense of community, union with nature and even
spiritual well-being as we return to a more natural and human
rhythm of life.
