The Values of Everything
Alternatives to Political Systems, Consumerism, Economics, People Systems, Society — by George Monbiot October 12, 2010
Progressive causes are failing: here’s how they could be turned around
by George Monbiot: journalist, author, academic and environmental and political activist, United Kingdom
So here we are, forming an orderly queue at the slaughterhouse gate. The punishment of the poor for the errors of the rich, the abandonment of universalism, the dismantling of the shelter the state provides: apart from a few small protests, none of this has yet brought us out fighting.
The acceptance of policies which counteract our interests is the pervasive mystery of the 21st Century. In the United States, blue-collar workers angrily demand that they be left without healthcare, and insist that millionaires should pay less tax. In the UK we appear ready to abandon the social progress for which our ancestors risked their lives with barely a mutter of protest. What has happened to us?
Comments (8)A Dim View of Libertarianism, Part VII – Some Concluding Questions
Alternatives to Political Systems, Economics, People Systems, Society, Village Development — by Ernest Partridge October 1, 2010
Part VII of a seven part series. Read Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V & Part VI.
Our critical examination of libertarianism has left us with some provocative questions, the responses to which will serve as a summary of these essays.
Copyright 2010 by Ernest Partridge. Published here with permission of the author.
Is a Well-Ordered Society a Free Gift?
The libertarian regards a morally well-ordered society as a free gift, to which nothing is owed for its maintenance. Accordingly, they argue against the liberals that redistribution of wealth, care for the weak and unfortunate, support of education, the arts and the environment, the promotion of civic pride – none of these is required of the citizen. Presumably, all these will be cared for “spontaneously” as each individual goes about his or her private business. True, private donations to charities and private organizations that aid these unfortunates and support these amenities are morally praiseworthy, but they cannot legitimately be supported by required tax assessments. To do so, the libertarians argue, would constitute involuntary appropriation of private property – in a word, “theft.”
In reply, the liberal cites an additional concept in John Locke’s political writings, conveniently overlooked by libertarian theorists; this is the concept of the social contract. Contract theorists such as Locke, and the contemporary liberal moral philosopher, John Rawls, point out that secure possession of the rights of life, liberty and property, and the orderly functioning of the free market, are only possible in what John Rawls calls a “well ordered society.” Such a society exists he writes:
Comments (11)A Dim View of Libertarianism, Part VI – The Inevitability of Government
Alternatives to Political Systems, Economics, People Systems, Society — by Ernest Partridge September 29, 2010
Part VI of a seven part series. Read Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV & Part V.
Copyright 2010 by Ernest Partridge. Published here with permission of the author.
I think you can spend your money more wisely than the federal government can. – George W. Bush
Those exertions of the natural liberty of a few individuals, which might endanger the security of the whole society, are, and ought to be, restrained by the laws of all governments. – Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations
Kill the Umpire!
Comments (13)Swarm for Change – Coalition of the Willing
Alternatives to Political Systems, Bio-regional Organisations, Community Projects, Developments, Networking Sites, People Systems, Social Gatherings, Society, Village Development — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor September 28, 2010
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A few days ago I gave you all a sneak peek at the Worldwide Permaculture Network database we’re furiously working on. As I’ve expressed multiple times on this site and in discourses with permaculturists worldwide, it’s my firm belief that driving permaculture into mainstream thinking will only happen if the mainstream see the breadth and scope of permaculture work today, and its enormous potential if demanded by citizens and incentivised by governments. People need to see us as a movement; a force to be reckoned with and taken seriously. This is where such an online network as we’re building can become a valuable tool for real change. With it we can both showcase projects of every shape and size worldwide, and network and collaborate to put pressure where pressure is needed.
The following video clip expounds on these thoughts nicely.
I look forward to releasing this system for general consumption, and hope you will help us with feedback and involvement to make it everything it should be.
Comments (9)A Dim View of Libertarianism, Part V: Corporations – Invaluable Servants, Ruthless Masters
Alternatives to Political Systems, Consumerism, Economics, Ethical Investment, People Systems, Society — by Ernest Partridge
Part V of a seven part series. Read Part I, Part II, Part III & Part IV.
Copyright 2010 by Ernest Partridge. Published here with permission of the author.
The libertarians’ position on corporations is divided. One faction holds that there should be no legal and regulatory curbs on corporations, since they are the result of free association of individuals. As such, corporations are entitled to full participation in “free markets” which, as we have noted, libertarians fully endorse.
On the other hand, Roderick Long, repeating a point that we made earlier, observes that “corporate power and the free market are actually antithetical; genuine competition is big business’s worst nightmare.” Moreover, Long continues, “Corporate power depends crucially on government intervention in the marketplace. This is obvious enough in the case of the more overt forms of government favoritism such as subsidies, bailouts, and other forms of corporate welfare.” And government interference with markets, as we have noted repeatedly, is the bête noir of libertarians. Long concludes, “small wonder that big business, despite often paying lip service to free market ideals, tends to systematically oppose them in practice.”
Comments (5)A Dim View of Libertarianism, Part IV: The Privatization Panacea
Alternatives to Political Systems, Consumerism, Economics, Society — by Ernest Partridge September 23, 2010
Part IV of a seven part series. Read Part I, Part II & Part III.
Copyright 2010 by Ernest Partridge. Published here with permission of the author.
In colonial Philadelphia, firefighters were employed by private insurance companies which, of course, had financial incentives to minimize damage to their clients’ properties. Plaques with the insurance company’s insignia were placed on buildings, so that the fire fighters would know whether or not it was “their business” to put out the fires on the premises. (These plaques are often found today in antique shops). If the “wrong” plaque was on the building, well, that was just tough luck. Of course, with their attention confined to a single building, fire fighters were ill-disposed to prevent a spreading of the fire to adjacent “non-client” structures.
Occasionally, when the building’s insurance affiliation was in some doubt, competing fire companies would fight each other for the privilege of putting out the fire, resulting in more water aimed at fire fighters than at burning buildings.
Comments (15)A Dim View of Libertarianism, Part III: Market Fundamentalism
Alternatives to Political Systems, Consumerism, Economics, Society — by Ernest Partridge
Part III of a seven part series. Read Part I & Part II.
Copyright 2010 by Ernest Partridge. Published here with permission of the author.
The economist . . . keeps the motivations of human beings pure, simple and hard-headed, and not messed up by such things as goodwill or moral sentiments… [T]here is … something quite extraordinary in the fact that economics has in fact evolved in this way, characterizing human motivation in such spectacularly narrow terms. One reason why this is extraordinary is that economics is supposed to be concerned with real people. It is hard to believe that real people could be completely unaffected by the reach of the self-examination induced by the Socratic question, ‘how should one live?” – Amartya Sen1
Libertarians accept the conviction of neo-classical economists that “the free market,” unconstrained by government oversight and regulation, will always produce better results than markets directed by legislation. The free market, they insist, resulting from the “utility maximizing” transactions of numerous autonomous buyers and sellers, “spontaneously” establishes prices and prompts entrepreneurial decisions that yield the best outcome for the society in general. “Good for each, good for all.”
“The wisdom of the market place” is epitomized by the concept of “the invisible hand,” cherished by libertarians, which has its origin in Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations.
Comments (5)Fined Nearly $5,000 for Growing Too Many Vegetables
Alternatives to Political Systems, Biodiversity, Society — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor
I think soon, around about now actually, local councils will need to be looking at public spaces in a new light – rather than using it for pavements, ornamentals and fountains, grass verges, parks and unused lots will have to be turned into community gardens and permaculture demonstration sites.
Whilst approval for this concept might not be in the minutes of most local council meetings as yet, one particular council in the U.S. is not even close to such an epiphany:
I’d encourage people in the U.S. south east to hammer the point home to the DeKalb County officials – we need to transition to relocalised polycultures, or we’re all screwed…. Steve Miller’s stand, if overwhelmingly supported, could become a great opportunity to educate the local council on issues that matter.
Go Steve!
Comments (8)A Dim View of Libertarianism, Part II: The Myth of Social Atomism
Alternatives to Political Systems, Consumerism, Economics, Society — by Ernest Partridge September 22, 2010
Part II of a seven part series. Read Part I here.
Copyright 2010 by Ernest Partridge. Published here with permission of the author.
Perhaps the fundamental dispute between libertarians and liberals resides in the ontological status of “society” and “the public.”
Social atomism might well be the foundational doctrine of libertarianism, upon which all other planks of the libertarian platform – market fundamentalism, privatism, minimal government, spontaneous order – are supported. Refute this doctrine, and quite possibly the entire theoretical structure of libertarianism might collapse. Accordingly, the doctrine of social atomism deserves careful critical scrutiny.
Comments (7)A Dim View of Libertarianism, Part I: What is Libertarianism?
Alternatives to Political Systems, Economics, Society — by Ernest Partridge
Editor’s Note: As our present environmental realities are a consequence of the economic and political framework we live within (positive or negative activities are incentivised, disincentivised, encouraged, discouraged, allowed, enforced or outlawed by them), we will run a series on libertarianism over the ensuing days. Part I is below – additional parts will be linked to from the bottom of each as they go up.
Part I of a seven part series.
Copyright 2010 by Ernest Partridge. Published here with permission of the author.
A half century ago, when liberalism was ascendant in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, libertarianism was a fringe curiosity. Now it has become a formidable political and economic force in the United States.
No existing democratic governments fully endorse and implement libertarian doctrine, for no national electorate would tolerate so radical a system of political economy. (The Libertarian Party in the United States has never attracted more than one percent of the votes in a Presidential election). Nonetheless, libertarianism deserves careful critical analysis since in theory, if not in practice, it is the ideological “spear-point” of “free market reform” throughout the world. Furthermore, many of its prominent exponents, such as Milton Friedman, F. A. Hayek, Ludwig von Mises and Robert Nozick, are highly esteemed by scholars throughout the world. Thus, while its principles may appear stark, unqualified and unyielding and its proposals over-simplistic, because of its widespread and growing influence, libertarianism must be taken very seriously.
Comments (35)An Index for a Permacultural World
Alternatives to Political Systems, Consumerism, Economics, People Systems, Society — by Oyvind Holmstad September 17, 2010
We have the world’s best product to sell, a holistic life. Still, it’s not for sale, it’s for free. This is of course good news, because it means it’s achievable for everyone. But there is a catch too, because when something is for free, there is no money to earn in selling it (although some still try). This is why the multinational companies don’t use a single dollar from their billions of dollars spent on marketing every year, on selling the world’s best product. So here your help is desperately needed, in becoming a living marketer for the holistic life of permaculture. Let’s become professional marketers of permaculture. Let’s make people feel “greedy” to enter “the life zone” of permaculture. Let’s make our governments feel “greedy” to enter the top of the Happy Planet Index!
See this video with Nic Marks from TED Global and get inspired:
Comments (9)
Permaculture Persistance Pays Off in Wales
Alternatives to Political Systems, Eco-Villages, People Systems, Village Development — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor September 7, 2010
I just want to congratulate the Lammas team, who after four years of battling local government have finally received approval to turn their ambitions of building a sustainable community in Wales into reality. Well done team. Do us proud!
Liquid Democracy
Alternatives to Political Systems, Deforestation, Society — by Thomas Fischbacher September 2, 2010
 Isn’t it time to imagine a new world? |
Perhaps it is impossible to write an article about politics without evoking strong – and maybe quite emotional – thoughts and responses. One particular all-too-human reaction to a novel concept or idea about which we have a strong "gut feeling" (good or bad) is to construct logically-sounding reasons to justify our initial emotions. For this reason, I would like to ask readers who would like to comment on this article to sleep one night over their reply before they post it.
Politics is all about defining the legal environment that guides society. It is this framework that defines to a large extent what is illegal and what is not, what is profitable and what is not – hence what sort of economic activities will be pursued. Evidently, political decisions therefore have a major impact on how well societies manage their natural resources. Some would even claim that sustainability is exclusively a question of politics. While I personally would not subscribe to this idea, there have been a number of people who became professional politicians out of a strong inner desire to move their respective societies away from their suicidal paths. Across the globe, some quite prominent politicians invested a lot of personal energy into this – often to ultimately fail in resignation. One might think, for example, of the German politician Herbert Gruhl, originally a member of the conservative party, who, cancelling his membership due to irreconcilable differences on environmental issues, became one of the founders of the German Green Party. In 1992, the year before he died, he published a sequel to his 1975 best-seller (whose title would translate as "Plundered Planet"), which roughly would translate as: "Ascension to Nothingness – the Plundered Planet at its End". In the U.S., Jay Hanson seems to have played a similar role. Resignation clearly speaks out of the last lines of his article ‘requiem’:
Comments (10)Letters from Sri Lanka – Sarvodaya and the Tea Plantation Challenge
Aid Projects, Alternatives to Political Systems, Community Projects, Consumerism, Economics, People Systems, Society, Village Development — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor August 26, 2010
Part IX of a series – If you haven’t already, please read Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, Part VII and Part VIII before continuing. This series is part of my work for the Sustainable (R)evolution book project.
Preamble: Described as ‘the champagne of tea’, Sri Lankan tea is consumed the world over. Second only to Kenya in exports, Sri Lanka’s tea industry accounts for a full 15% of the nation’s GDP, generating about $700 million per year. Yet very little of this money is seen by the people actually producing it…. Tea plantation workers are trapped in low paid manual labour positions and live in miserable housing conditions, while people around the globe slurp on the fruit of their misery. Sarvodaya has its work cut out to try to assist, but they’re giving it a good try.
Sri Lankan tea plantation worker
All photographs © copyright Craig Mackintosh
Permaculture and Society – a Look at the Example of Detroit
Aid Projects, Alternatives to Political Systems, Community Projects, Economics, Food Shortages, Society, Urban Projects, Village Development — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor August 24, 2010
Rhamis Kent, friend and regular contributor to the PRI, recently gave a talk to Schumacher College in the south west of England. He starts with a look at the meltdown of Detroit’s once thriving manufacturing base, its dramatic consequences for the city and residents, and shares that the current state of affairs for the beleaguered city is a direct result of the economic model that’s been in place in the U.S. over the last century. Rhamis goes further, to share that this is, to one degree or another, the present trajectory of most of the world’s cities.
But, not stopping on the negative, Rhamis goes on to show some of the exciting movements within Detroit that these circumstances are giving life to. Out of necessity, people are working to increase their resiliency and quality of life – turning the problem of Detroit into a solution. Rhamis joins the dots between our socio-economic problems and the environmental catastrophes taking place, and begins to look through the lens of permaculture to see how we can turn things around by imitating natural systems to create low- to no-impact societies that don’t operate on the boom-and-bust model that present day Detroit is arguably the most striking example of.
Duration: 82 minutes
Part way through the talk Rhamis presents the following Urban Roots film trailer. I’ll put it below for convenience. To jump back to where the trailer below (higher quality) ends in the video above, click on 31:40 on progress bar above.
Comments (10)
