Re: Approved

[tom abeles <tabeles@tmn.com>]

Roberto Verzola wrote, in a small part:

>  was there ever a past when
> communities were much more self-sufficient than they are today?
> (Again, I'm not talking only of absolute, 100% self-sufficiency here).
> I'd say there was. Is that a desirable goal for the future? I'd say it
> is. This is the very lesson Y2K (among others) teaches us. All the Y2K
> talk about "resilient," "self-sustainable," "self-sufficient," etc
> communities are about this lesson.
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Let us think about this for a minute. For example, There is a farm
family, wife, husband, two children etc. The farm provides a basic
income for an acceptable life style. Now the children grow up and the
farmer wants to retire. The farmer and his wife will live longer in a
world where the life style increases demands on resources greater than
the previous generatiion. This means the farm must support the first
generation for a longer time and at a greater per capita/year cost. It
is obvious that the farm can not support the extended family, or even
one of the children and his/her family. Children go to college, are more
expensive to provide for and the current operation has increased
demands. Basically, the succeeding generations must either make the farm
more economically productive or the operation must expand, essentially
creating larger operations and fewer farmers.

The example is a small version of what has happened many times, around
the world. Self sufficient communities have to increase the economic
flow into the community to support growth, either in numbers or improved
lifestyle from goods to health systems. The model needs to be run
through several generations or one needs to read the history books.

thoughts?

tom abeles